Sakura was cold and lost, and, really, all she wanted to do at the moment was go home and drink a hot cup of tea.

But no, Naruto just had to get them lost in the middle of nowhere.

Glancing at said blonde, Sakura narrowed her emerald orbs when she noticed that he was completely unaffected by the turn of events, rummaging through his bright orange backpack for a cup of instant ramen like they weren't totally lost and it wasn't his fault.

Damn him and his never ending optimism.

After glaring at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed goofball of a best friend she somehow loved enough to be her unbiological brother, Sakura decided to see what her other, less excitable teammate was up to.

Turning her head, Sakura could tell that Sasuke, even though he looked bored and apathetic on the outside, was inwardly planning Naruto's, most likely to be painful, demise.

Now don't get Sakura wrong, she really did love Naruto and Sasuke to bits and pieces, but when she was stuck freezing her ass of in a strange place where they knew nobody, all because Sasuke let Naruto lead the way to the mission's destination, well...you can say that she wasn't exactly the happiest camper in the troop.

"Naruto, I swear if we end up dying here, I'll haunt you when we're ghosts."

"Ne, Sakura, no offense or anything, but how does that even work?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head with a 'I'm-just-curious-so-please-don't-kill-me' smile that only he could pull off.

Sakura thought it over for a bit before replying, "I'll make it work."

And Naruto somehow had a feeling that she really would, because, let's face it, Sakura was a genius at getting her way.

It was probably some sort of gene they had, the three members of Team 7. Being stubborn, I mean.

"Hn. Let's go." Sasuke commanded, getting up from his previous spot on the left side of the small fire they put together.

Sasuke was pretty much telling them to 'get their lazy asses up, because he'll damned if word gets out that he, Sasuke Uchiha, actually got lost', except he did it using a considerably less amount of vocabulary, narrowing it down to something he would deem worthy of an antisocial Uchiha like himself.

Sakura sighed getting up as well, knowing fully well that Sasuke was not patient and that he was right.

Naruto got up with a small protest of "I don't feel like going yet!", of which was ignored by both of his closest friends, and pouted slightly. First he finds out that he forgot to pack ramen in his backpack again, and now he couldn't even relax a bit. Life was seriously not fair.

Sakura couldn't help but crack a smile. Naruto was the sole living person that, no matter the time, could always make Sakura smile, even when they were in a bad situation like this one.

"Hurry up, Dobe." Sasuke muttered, annoyed and wanting nothing more than to find their way back and get this stupid mission over with. He was tired, damnit.

Naruto glared at the raven-haired boy venomously. "Shut the hell up, Teme!"

Sakura, fully wishing for anything that could cure the headache that was attacking her, lashed out at the two, knowing that they were both going to get into a heated argument that would surely worsen her headache and only make their situation worse. "CAN YOU BOTH SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR A FRICK'N MINUTE SO WE CAN GET THE HELL OUTTA WHEREVER THIS PLACE IS? !"

Both boys quieted down immediately, but not without sending each other bloodcurdling glares that promised revenge as soon as the mission was over and done with.

As the trio finally began moving, with Sasuke leading the way this time (because he was arrogant and believed he was the only one that could find the way out), Sakura got lost in thought.

Honestly, if she would've known all of this would've happened, she wouldn't have agreed to Naruto's idea to go get a mission from their Hokage, and her mentor, Tsunade, just because the three were bored out of their mind.

She would've gladly chosen boredom over being completely lost and having the biggest headache known to mankind.

She couldn't even remember how it happened. One minute they were jumping through trees at high speeds, trying to find the hideout of a group of missing nin they were supposed to locate and eliminate, when all of a sudden they found themselves in a deserted clearing. They went in every direction, but whenever they seemed to think they had finally made their way out, they somehow winded up in the clearing all over again.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she was hit with just how strange the situation really was. She pondered the situation in her head for ten minutes. They had been traveling to the trees when they all of a sudden ended up in that annoying clearing.

Sakura stopped, frozen in place as realization hit her like a harsh blow of wind. Coming out of her stupor, she mentally began berating herself as she realized that they stupidly ran blindly into a trap.

Naruto and Sasuke paused as well, Naruto with a confused expression etched onto his features and Sasuke with an elegant eyebrow raised as though silently telling her to hurry the hell up. Electric blue and unemotional onyx eyes meeting her emerald green ones.

"Eh, what's wrong, Sakura?" Naruto asked, his head tilting to the side as he did so.

"Guys," Sakura began worriedly, "I think we just walked into a trap."

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned, features schooling into seriousness.

"Hn." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What I mean is that we may have gotten caught into a genjutsu." Sakura explained seriously.

Sasuke contemplated this for a second. "My sharingan would've picked up on it."

Sakura thought it over for a while before shaking her head. "Not if it was an extremely powerful one, casted by an extraordinarily talented genjutsu specialist."

Naruto, puzzled, and not wanting to be left out, piped in, "But the only person that we know could do that is Itachi!"

The three let that statement sink in for a minute, before realization dawned on them.

Sakura looked at Sasuke. "You don't think-"

Clenching his fists, Sasuke sneered at the ground. "There's only one way to find out."

Naruto and Sakura suddenly didn't seem all that eager to leave anymore. The two of them cast glances at Sasuke, afraid he might explode or something.

"Hn."Sasuke immediately began performing the correct hand signs to release himself from the illusion. If the genjutsu was powerful enough to get past his sharingan, there was only one jutsu they could use, the one Kakashi and Sakura had worked with Kurenai and Shikamaru to make- they had intended for it to be a last resort if, when Sasuke confronted his brother, Itachi put him in a genjutsu that his sharingan couldn't get him out of. It didn't have a 100% success rate, but if this genjutsu was made by Itachi, it was most likely one of the only ways out.

Sasuke knew that he could've used his sharingan, but then his teammates wouldn't be getting out too, and if they were stuck here, then so was he. Though he'd never tell them, they meant a lot to him. They were his second family, and he'd be darned if he lost them after losing his first family.

Sakura and Naruto, knowing what Sasuke was doing, immediately began forming the correct hand signs as well.

The three glanced at each other confidently. If it was Itachi and, most likely, the rest of the Akatsuki with him, they'd go out fighting.

"Kai."

Wow. I know it's not long, but its a prologue. Anyway, it's midnight over here and I'm tired as hell.

But, before I go, I'd like you all to know that ALL the Akatsuki members are still alive in this, and Sasuke NEVER left Konoha.

Please point out any mistakes and point out any signs of OCness. I read over this 5 times, but I'm not sure I got everything. Sorry for any mistakes made and please do keep in mind that I was tired while writing this.

I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.

Review, please. (: