A/N: Hello, Naruto fandom! Long time no see, eh? Ahem, anyway, I'm back with Naruto... Just in case, I rated this T because it has some cursing words and... yeah, just to be safe.

So, this one shot is in between right after Orochimaru's death and before Sasuke makes team Taka. Sai doesn't appear because... Uhm, he's sick? I just noticed I never mention him... Anyway, I don't want to spoil the character's that appear in this one-shot...

So, yeah, to the disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


Knock….knock!

Throwing his arms into the air, Naruto stood up on his bed and brought his hand up to his face to rub his eyes; trying to wipe the sleep away. Groaning in annoyance, he flew the covers off his lower body and stepped –cautiously, not wanting to slip on a bowl of Ramen- on his wood tile floor. The knocking continued in an aggravated way and the blonde boy had in mind who was on the other side.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Approaching the door frame, he yelled at the person on the other side, "Oi, oi, Sakura-chan! Stop it, please!" He whined, and for a second, the knocking stopped and he flung the door open to reveal a shivering Sakura on the other side.

She was rubbing her upper arms to create some sort of friction to warm herself up. With a quivering lower lip, she stuttered, "N-naruto, it is f-freezing!" She walked into his small apartment and he closed the door behind her.

After a couple of minutes of her rubbing her arms, she stopped shivering and, with a tired voice, Naruto checked the time before speaking. "Sakura, it's four in the morning and I – we, got here yesterday at night – midnight, to be clear, from a mission. Why did you pass by?" He whined, flopping on his bed with a glaring Sakura.

"I received a message from Kakashi-sensei, saying that Tsunade wants us in her office," She spoke, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Apparently, the daughter of the Fuedal Lord has been captured by some bandits. She wants to give us our mission, you know."

"Why can't they give it to Shikamaru's squad?" Naruto groaned into his pillow after pulling it over his head. "They haven't been on a misson in months!"

Sakura pursed her lips in annoyance and sighed, getting up and walking to Naruto's door. Opening the door and stopping beside the threshold, she craned her neck to look back Naruto, "Must I remind you that Shikamaru's squad is genin in training? And," She trailed on, awaiting a muttered response from Naruto that never came, "I'll be waiting for you outside, get dressed, okay?"

With that said, she stepped outside and closed the door. Naruto sighed, took the pillow off from his face and grinned into the dimness of his room, "I'm awake now, anyway… sure, what the hell."


Walking next to each other –Naruto with his hands shoved down his pockets in warmth and Sakura's hands rubbing her arms – for the past fifteen minutes dying of coldness, they reached the Hokage tower. Walking up the steps, and strolling down the hall to Tsunade's office, they spotted Kakashi reading the new series of Icha Icha Paradise. For the past month, after two years of no inspiration and procrastinating on Jiraiya's part, he gave Kakashi the first copy of his newest novel, which involved the heroin and her long lost lover and her fiancé in a love triangle. Kakashi would giggle now and then, and on the umpteenth time, Sakura almost punched him, saying something like, "Kakashi-sensei, quit it with the novel, me and Naruto want to practice for once!"

"Oi, Naruto," He waved at the duo, his eyes fixed on the book. "I'm surprised to see that you woke up this time," he said, his eye sight never wavering.

Both teens sighed and Sakura opened the door to Tsunade's office to find the latter sleeping on top of her papers – drool everywhere. Naruto snickered and barked out a laugh, winning a punch from Sakura. Tonton came in, made his way onto the Hokage's desk, and licked her face, making her sneeze and wake up. Her eyes fluttered open and she yawned, scratching the underside of her breast and then her side.

"Shizune," She dragged out, waiting for her to arrive at any point, "where is my sa- eh? You guys are here?" She blinked a couple of times and wiped the drool from her chin.

"T-tsunade-sama, you called us?" Sakura muttered, holding Naruto's neck to teach him a lesson.

The older woman nodded and pushed some papers away and put a dozen of folders on the floor. A large stack of papers were put inside a drawer and then she picked up a folder from her desk. "Kakashi."

The afford said man walked up to her desk, eyes still glued on the page he was reading, and clutched the folder in his calloused hand and made his way back in the middle of his two students. "Arigatou," He muttered, closing the book, which shocked both Naruto and Sakura, and putting it inside his back pocket.

Opening the folder, a photo of a man with brown eyes, long hair tied in a pony tail and a beard appeared to be held by a paper clip. His forehead protector was scratched and the symbol was of the Hidden Sand. Flipping through the pages, Kakashi's eyes settled on the map of the location of the hideout of the man, where he holds Fuedal Lord's daughter. Kakashi hummed to himself and closed the folder, winning a few curious glares from both teens. Kakshi strolled back to Tsunade's desk and meanwhile, Sakura shot a questioning look at Naruto, who shrugged in response.

"Arigatou," was all Kakashi said before grabbing his book again and opening it where he had folded the top of the corner in a doggy ear style. "Ano," Kakashi spoke, raising his hand up, "may I ask, did he ever fought Yondaime Hokage?"

Tsunade's response was a shrug and a sigh and a cross of her arms below her chest. "I don't know. You're all dismissed…" She mumbled closing her eyes again and waving at them goodbye.

"Oh," Kakashi said to himself, folding the corner of the page and closing the book, "he seems so familiar to me."


An hour and four sighs later, Team seven headed out of Konoha. While Kakashi walked and read along, Sakura and Naruto were mingling in the background. Every now and then their sensei would turn and check on them, but he would just shrug it off and continue reading. And, every now and then, Naruto would pipe up with a question.

"What do you think he knows?" or, "Why does he seem to know the man?"

Sakura's last result was to punch Naruto for not shutting up – even during that scene with the ground cracking below Naruto's body, Kakashi kept reading and humming a melody.

Though the walk was frustrating and boring, Kakshi stopped, making Naruto bump into him. Kakashi stretched his arm out to stop Sakura and she quirked an eyebrow at him, flabbergasted.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto mumbled, before being dragged by Sakura to a nearby bush. "Sakura-cha-hmph!" He muffled into Sakura's hand clamped over his mouth.

Sakura pressed her index finger to her lips, silencing him and he nodded as response. Blue eyes wondered off above the duo to find Kakashi on top of a tree branch, eyes narrowed. Sighing, Naruto's eyes fell on top of the ninja that walked out of the forest. His heart dropped to his stomach and his eyes grew wide as dishes.

It couldn't be, could it?

Akin to Sakura, his hands were shaking and both were sweating – or, at least, that's what he thought. To no avail, the blond teen tried to stand up but was pushed down harshly by Sakura, who was chewing on her bottom, plump limp. His head was spinning by then. The suspense was too much and he was frightened.

I can't let him get away this time.

Moving his hands noiselessly, and, where Sakura's gaze couldn't land on them, Naruto made a clone, mentally saying, Bunshin no Jutsu. Controlling a clone from far away wasn't hard for Naruto and either the first time. But, to keep his chakra level under control without Sakura or the ninja walking in front of them to notice was hard. Luckily, though, much to Sakura's and Kakashi's dismay, Naruto's clone managed to reach up and capture him, pinning him down to the floor.

"Naruto!" Sakura screeched, getting out of the bushes and Kakashi jumping off the tree. "Baka!" She yelled back at him, running to his clone and punching it as it disappeared.

Naruto got up; eyes narrowed, and walked over to him. Dark eyes lingered over azure orbs for minute before he scoffed and looked away. With an exasperated sigh, Naruto chuckled at himself and crouched down next to Sakura, who had him pinned down.

"Ne, dobe," Naruto teased, grinning like a mad man, "who's the loser now?" He asked, before continuing with a, "Told ya I would capture you."

"Usuratonkachi," he growled at Naruto. "Sakura, let me go!" He spat, Sharingan blazing. The three tomoe in his eyes made Sakura close her green ones and look away. "Sa-"

"I'm not falling for an illusion," she stated, putting more force on an injury he had on his left forearm. Pursing her lips, she looked down at the Sharingan user. "Ne, could you tell me who gave you this slash so large?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Orochimaru, before I killed him."

"So, you've been like this for, how long, three weeks or so?" She inquired, and he scoffed, his Sharingan changing into the grey color of his eyes. "That means…" She trailed off, touching the cut with dried blood over it and applying pressure, "it hurts, a lot. Judging by the time period, you, my dear friend, have an infection."

Out of his bag, Kakashi took out a rope while Naruto grinned at Sakura's witty remark and she stood up from hovering over him. The Sharingan user stood up and Kakashi smiled behind his mask and pulled the rope a bit.

"We're taking you with us."


At night, after setting up camp and a fireplace, Team Seven wound themselves around the fire. Sakura was healing him and he groaned here and there, glaring at her with unrepentant eyes which made her heart clench and unclench behind her rib cage. Once finished healing him, Sakura went to sit beside Naruto, who was glaring at his not-so-sure-friend. Naruto always thought that the next time they met, it would be less cold…hearted of his part.

"So…"The jinchuriki started awkwardly, everyone looking at him. "What now, Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably and brought her legs under her and looked at her sempai, along with Naruto. "I think, the first thing I would like to do is ask: What are you doing, Sasuke?"

Staying silent, he bit his lip, controlling an irritated sigh that threatened to erupt from the back of his throat. Finally, after minutes of silence though, Sasuke broke the silence around them, which jarred Sakura and Naruto from their thoughts. "I was doing a mission for this man I met back at The Mist. Apperantly, it's to capture the Fuedal Lord's daughter, who is – ugh, I can't concentrate…" He held his nose next to his eyes and groaned, Sakura getting up with a questioning façade.

"Sauske?" She asked, crouching next to him and placing a hand over his forehead. Naruto got up behind her and she brought chakra to her hands, checking his vital signals and chakra flow. "Damnit," she cursed under her breath, taking out a scalpel out of her bag and opening up his dark grey shirt.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Was all Naruto could say at the moment.

She made a small incision over his torso and begged naruto to give her some sort of bowl and her water bottle. Naruto went to his bag, scavenging through it until he found one of the Ramen cups he usually takes on missions. He gave the items to Sakura and she placed her chakra covered hand over the incision.

"Poison…"She muttered to herself.

Sighing, her lips pressed against Sasuke's torso and she sucked on the blood and spit it out onto the ground. After five times, she began to extract the poison with the water she poured onto the bowl; using her hand, she would hold onto the water with chakra flowing out of her palm and water would go in from one side and poison through the next. Until she was sure she had extracted every last drop of poison. She wiped away her sweat and Naruto sighed, patting Sakura's back in comfort and admiration.

Sasuke was left unconscious from the poison, leaving Naruto and Sakura to talk to Kakashi. The questions brought up during the conversation were some that couldn't be evaded. One way or another, they knew that he was going to leave. Then, the most important, if he was after the Fuedal Lord's daughter, shouldn't they go before he could wake up and they could get her to safety? Surely, with Naruto's enthusiasm, he was ecstatic about the idea. On the other hand, Sakura wasn't akin to the idea of leaving Sasuke behind after being so close to him for once.

Sakura's contradiction to Naruto's afford said thoughts brought more questions. How would they bring him back then? And that's when Naruto's… smarter alter ego kicked in, making a plan for them to capture Sasuke and bring the Fuedal Lord's daughter back to her father.


To no one's surprise, Sasuke left at dawn, leaving the three man cell behind to finish his mission. Nearing the town, the rouge ninja stopped at a large oak tree on a hill; the town over the horizon and the sun up high in the blue, clear sky. He narrowed his eyes and looked down at the scar forming over his stomach. He smirked at himself before scoffing and walking away from the tree.

It was only after twenty minutes of walking that Sasuke reached the town. The streets were long and endless; a sea of faces in every street. Little kids giggled and laughed and ran pass by Sasuke and older women gossiped and shared tales while other adults yelled at their children to calm down. Sauntering down a dark alley, Sasuke's Sharingan blazed in the darkness to check for chakra.

Sighing, the young ninja placed a hand on the large, metallic door's knob and twisted it, opening it with a large piercing noise in the background. The layout of the small base was simple, with a couple of sword hanging from the walls and a sofa – a table in front of it – and a rug underneath the beige sofa. A sake bottle lay on the table; cups on either side. A man sat on the center of the sofa with two women hugging him on either side of his torso. Their nails clawed the man's open chest while he drank the sake – in this case, chugged it down.

Once Sasuke entered the small room, two men stopped him and he began to raise the tip of his Kusanagi, ready to attack.

"Suigetsu," began Sasuke, letting go of Kusanagi once the two men backed away.

"Ah, Sasuke! So glad you could make it!" He greeted, standing up from the couch and holding up the cup filled with sake. Suigetsu waved at one of the men next to the door and they brought a chair in front of the table. "Come on, sit!" He gestured at the wood seat.

Sighing, Sasuke walked to the chair and sat down, placing Kusanagi next to him. Suigetsu grinned at him and served him a cup of sake before taking another chug at his cup. Skeptically, Sasuke eyed the men behind him and then Suigetsu, who had a goofy grin over his face. Closing his eyes, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and in a second, had Suigetsu pushed up against the wall.

"Don't play games with me, Suigetsu," Sasuke growled into his ear; everything around them – the sofa, girls and men, along with the table – disappeared. "You know…" He trailed on, backing away from the smaller man, "your genjustu never really amazed me."

Suigetsu scoffed and flushed a deep red, looking away. "Yeah, well…"

Sasuke began to saunter back to pick up Kusanagi, Suigetsu trailing behind. Before walking out the door, though, Sasuke gave Suigetsu a questioning glare, his eyes widening at the sight of another person; bomb in hand and a smirk tugging his lips.

"Yeah, well…" The man began, "I didn't know I could fool you."

"Sasuke!" A man behind him called, pushing him down to the floor, covering him from the explosion.

After some minutes of staying still, Sasuke's eyes fluttered open to find his sen – former sensei looking down at him. Groaning, he stood up from the floor and quirked an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here, Kakashi?"

Pondering over his answer, Kakashi gave Sasuke a small smile behind his mask. "I figured why not help my former student."

A quirk of the brow and both men headed out of the small room.


"Naruto, back off, will you?"

"Demo, Sakura – chan, this place scares the hell outta me!"

Sakura groaned in disappointment, the thought of her friend being scared of such a place after so many years trying to be drowned into her. Naruto held onto her tighter and she elbowed him on the ribs, while he clutched his side.

A squeak! noise bounced of the narrow walls of the underground hall.

The face of a mice appeared in front of Sakura and –

"Naruto!"

- she got behind his back as the rodent ran away, leaving Naruto with a proud grin on his façade. Sakura shuddered behind him and grabbed his hand; the heat began to rise to his cheeks and he felt a blush forming.

"S-sakura – chan," Naruto stuttered in delight before she clutched his hand tighter, making him grimace at the feeling of his hand almost cracking in hers and he pulled his hand away rapidly, kissing it here and there.

Sakura bid her sorry and began to walk in front of Naruto again. After passing by a couple of halls and doors, the pinknette stopped on an intersection, making Naruto bump into her. The blue eyed jinchuriki groaned and rubbed his nose, trying to ease the pain. Sakura looked both ways and threw the light stick she had in her hand down the left hall, making Naruto whine from the loss of light.

"Tasukete! Onegai!"

Sakura ran down the hall, Naruto behind her and they stopped in front of a cell, a young girl around twelve with black hair in buns and a torn kimono with a cherry blossom design was clutching the metal bars in an iron grip. Naruto made a clone and Sakura backed away from him.

"Get back, okay?" Naruto asked, his bunshin making a Rasengan before he ran towards the bars. "Rasengan!"

With the Rasengan, Naruto made a large gap on the bars, making it break. Sakura went inside the cell and crouched down in front of the girl, Naruto, on the other hand, stood next to her. The girl shivered in fright and Naruto gave her thumbs up and a grin. The girl stopped shivering and sighed, looking up at Naruto.

"Don't be scared, the number one knuckle head ninja of Kono- Ouch!" He groaned, grabbing his head from the punch Sakura had given him.

"Gomenasai," Sakura told the girl, letting her get on her back. Sakura craned her neck to look at the young girl and gave her a smile before stepping out. "He's a very stupid person sometimes, it's normal."

"S-sakura-chan…" Naruto whined in disappointment and embarrassment. "Don't tell that to the young kids. They're supposed to like me… like a hero!" he explained, walking out of the cell behind both girls.

Sakura gave one last look to the girl and smiled, the Fuedal Lord's daughter laughing sweetly.


Sasuke and Kakashi neared the cell of the Fuedal Lord's daughter – where she was supposed to be. In front of the cell, Sasuke looked back at Kakashi with a stern expression and a smirk. He then narrowed his eyes and turned to his former master.

"What the hell Kakashi?" He growled out, punching the wall next to him. "Was this all a trap? Huh? Tell me!"

"Ne, Sasuke, could you calm down a bit?" Kakashi offered, taking out his Icha Icha Paradise book.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Sakura's pink locks and Naruto, who was about to fall to the ground. Behind both of them was the Fuedal Lord's daughter, who was trying to stifle a laugh. Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and they began to walk towards the rest of Team Seven. Sasuke scolded himself and snickered when he approached Naruto, who had gotten up from the ground.

"Teme," was all Naruto could mouth out. "We're taking you with us to Konoha, this time for sure. I told Sakura that I was going to keep my promise and so… I'm bringing you back!" Naruto grinned and put his fist out in front of him.

"Naruto," began Sasuke, "don't get so cocky."

Naruto retrieved his fist and Sakura sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't understand why men are so… I don't know…" she trailed on, as if thinking what to say. "Can't you guys, for once, stop being immature around each other?"

Both teens looked at Sakura and then at each other. The –

"Ikasete!" The Fuedal Lord's daughter shrieked, making all ninja's look to their left.

The man that had attacked Sasuke earlier was holding her over his shoulder. Naruto took out a kunai and threw it at the man, who dodged it. From behind the man came out two more people – a woman with long, red hair and golden eyes wearing a long sleeved shirt with her clan's symbol on it and tight shorts down to her middle thigh, and a man, with short grey hair and blue eyes wearing an armor over his ninja attire and holding up a sword over his shoulder.

Naruto and Sasuke ran ahead to attack the man in the middle that had the Fuedal Lord's daughter; at the same time, the woman appeared in frony of Sakura, making her gasp in surprise, and she punched Sakura, making her go out flying.

"Ne, oba-sama," began the woman, nearing Sakura on the ground, "I think you're too easy to kill."

Sakura twitched in exasperation and got up, taking out a kunai. "Don't call me old!" With that said, Sakura threw her kunai at the woman, who disappeared. A clone, thought Sakura, before turning on her heel and throwing her fist to punch. "You're over here!" The woman appeared in front of her, stuck to the cracking wall and blood trickling down her chin. "Hm, I thought you were going to be easier to beat," She teased, before running to aid Kakashi, who was beating the man in the armor suit.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke tagged together to save the Fuedal Lord's daughter. Though every punch, throw of a kunai, kick and, to no avail, using Kusanagi seemed to not work, both teens smirked at one another, knowing exactly what to use.

Sasuke held his wrist, Chidori forming on the palm of his hand. Naruto made two Bunshin, which were making a Ōdama Rasengan. The man's eyes grew in bewilderment and he let the girl go, who ran behind a wall to shield herself while the man ran away from the duo.

"Chidori!"

"Ōdama Rasengan!"

Both ninjutsu attacks made a huge explosion, killing the man during the process. Naruto picked up the girl on his back and began to walk back to Sakura and Kakashi with Sasuke next to him.

"Sasuke, Naruto!" Sakura called, running towards them and giving all three a hug. Hesitantly, Sasuke hugged back before she stepped back, face gleaming in happiness. "Ne, Sasuke – kun," Sasuke quirked an eyebrow and looked at Naruto and back to Sakura. "If you were to come back to Konoha with us… would you – maybe – I was only wondering! – go on a date with me?"

Sasuke smirked at her and began to walk away. "It depends… For now, no. I'm not."

Sakura raised a brow and went running behind him, catching his arm in hers. "So, does that mean I have a c-chance?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"Sakura, you're annoying," He deadpanned, winning a smile.

"Hai, Sasuke, I love you too!"

A snicker and both of them headed out the base.

"Ne, Kakashi – sensei?" Naruto said, trying to "break the ice". "How is it that Sasuke gets all the girls?"

Sigh.

"Kakashi-sensei?" He asked, as his master left him behind. "Kaka-"

"'Cause he's cool," responded the Fuedal Lord's daughter.

Naruto craned his neck and looked at her. "How can I act cool?"

"It's simple…"

FIN.


A/N: So, uhm, did you guys enjoy it? I hope the characterization wasn't too off. Review, yeah?