Leaves drifted lazily on the cool autumn breeze. The overcast sky rumbled with thunder, a sure sign that rain would soon be arriving. On the outskirts of Konoha, on the peak of a hill, a young girl with pink hair and a red vented dress sat with her knees held to her chest.
Sakura blinked slowly as she stared into the depths of the forest that lay near the edge of her hill. That forest held a memory, a painful memory. For her, and many others.
When Sasuke had left Konoha, he had tread through that forest.
Sakura had nearly followed him. She had packed what she figured to be all the necessities she would need and had walked to the gates of Konoha, fully intending to leave. But Naruto had stopped her. He asked her to stay, and unlike Sasuke, she had.
She still wondered. Wondered what would have happened if she had gone through with her plan. Would she have found Sasuke? Would she be with him now? Would she be alive right now? She would never know.
Sakura shifted and unclasped her arms from around her legs before standing. She had been in the same position for so long, that she had begun to experience cramps.
Sasuke had been gone for nearly half the year now, and still no rescue or retrieval mission had been arranged. Sakura and Naruto had questioned the Hokage and had damned her reasoning. Uchiha Sasuke was a traitor of Konoha, and would be treated as such if he was found. Meaning he would either be locked away or he would be killed as a form of punishment.
Sakura had backed off then, whether Naruto had done the same or not was beyond her, but she hoped he had. She didn't want Sasuke killed. Now, his best chances at survival were to be somewhere far away from Konohagakure.
Sakura lowered her eyes and turned around. If she stayed there, she would get wet, and most probably get sick. And that would only add to her stress. She trudged down the hill and wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them in a comforting fashion.
Hopefully, after a full nights rest she would feel much better. Tomorrow was a new day.
Two figures watched with bright eyes as the young girl disappeared from view. A low chuckle escaped from the taller of the two.
"She's a cute one."
The second figure grunted, "It doesn't matter. When do we take them?"
The larger figure shifted, "Tonight"
"How many do we need?"
The tall one glanced at his companion before replying, a sneer evident in his voice, "You're clueless, aren't you?"
"…Answer my question."
He snorted, "A minimum of ten. The majority is likely to die, so the more the better."
The short figure nodded before stepping out into the open, looking up at the sky. "What do you think they'll be used for?"
The second joined his friend, "A few will be interrogated for information, and possibly recruited. Kabuto will be in charge of that."
"And the others?"
"Probably experiments. Or target practice."
Dark blue eyes focused on the larger individual. "He asked for two of them specifically. Naruto Uzumaki-"
"And Sakura Haruno."
The blue eyed one observed his partner. Blonde hair hung messily around his oval face, nearly hiding his brown eyes from view.
"Let's go. We'll need to rest before we head in. It's going to be a long night."
The blonde man chuckled and gave a mock bow "Yes master!"
The sapphire eyed man scowled but didn't comment. Turning back towards the woods he began the short walk to their hideout. Hearing his companion's footsteps behind him, he allowed himself to concentrate on thoughts of the coming evening.
He didn't know what his master wanted with this, Naruto Uzumaki, or Sakura Haruno. What he did know, was that they were once the teammates of Orochimaru's apprentice, Sasuke Uchiha. And he couldn't help but feel suspicious about Orochimaru's orders.
But tomorrow, despite his concerns, the siege on Konoha would begin.
(A/N: Short and sweet, don't you think? This is the...prologue to the story. The tidbit that will help you grasp the next chapter, which has a lot of the drama that leads up to a series of events and bla bla bla. Review at will!