Disclaimer: If I didn't own Naruto last chapter, then I sure don't own it now.

A/N: Another chapter, as promised. Enjoy!

As the last traces of brightness faded from the sky, a girl was walking briskly through the Konoha gates. The wind blew her pink hair into her face, and she took a deep breath of crisp night air. She had a simple task ahead, a short journey to the Wind Country for information, and she planned to enjoy the trip. After all, she could barely remember the last time she had been outside the village's stone walls.

Sakura kept up a quick pace, but still took a good look at her surroundings. The Land of Fire truly was beautiful at night; shadows of leaves and flowers danced and frolicked in the wind. The grassy fields rolled away under Sakura's feet as she marched on. Shadows of birds and night creatures flitted about all around her; then darkness obscured everything. Instinctively, Sakura looked to the moon in time to see the tail end of something seem to cross its surface.

"Maybe an owl" she mused.

Deidara was still sitting atop his bird, swooping silently over the woods and grass, but to no avail. Even his fitted scope couldn't find anything in the dark. He would have to find somewhere to rest, and then continue his search in the morning. He would not be swayed from his objective. That little medic would be beyond healing when he was through with her.

The giant bird was flying lower and lower, until it was just a few feet above the ground. Leaves and debris flew up in the slipstream left behind and gave their flight an audible rustle. Then there was a louder flapping noise. Deidara looked behind them. What on earth could have made that noise? It sounded like some sort of fabric. Maybe, just maybe, it was a campsite; there would be tents, sleeping bags, tarps and laundry lying around. It was a long shot, but if there was any chance at all of finding that damned girl, he would have to take it.

Deidara leapt nimbly from the bird and headed backward, to where the noise had come from. He crouched like some sort of feral predator and was rewarded when he caught sight of a campsite.

"Time to die, un." He muttered to himself, slipping his hand into a pouch full of clay. He continued to creep forward as he chewed and prepared to sneak into the tent; after all, if he murdered innocent people he would have a harder time slipping undetected around the country.

Deidara took a deep breath, then thrust open the tent flap, holding a tiny explosive bird aloft.

At first he thought that he was too late; the person in the tent seemed to already be dead. It was a gory scene that met his eyes. There was a figure, presumably a man, covered in a glistening dark substance that could only be blood. The would-be attacker held his breath and stood very still. A shallow rattling resounded through the tent. So the man was alive, then. Might as well know who the poor guy was, Deidara figured. It took some effort, but he managed to brush the sticky, blood-crusted hair away from his face. After a moment, he realized who he was looking at.

Itachi. It was Itachi. He couldn't believe it. Even though Itachi was definitely present on his list of those to seek revenge upon, he didn't want Itachi to die. It just didn't seem right, that the man who had hunted him down and forced him to join the Akatsuki could be lying there, so vulnerable. And besides, Itachi was his comrade now, and he had come to respect all of the others who wore the treasured rings, most of all the one who had given him his. He just couldn't let Itachi die. But what could he do? Itachi needed a medic-nin, and he as nothing of the sort. This was not something a simple bandage could fix, but he had to try.

His other objective momentarily forgotten, Deidara completed his crude medical care and curled up into a ball in the corner of the tent to fret. If nothing else, he could make sure that Itachi didn't die alone.

Sakura was still thinking about that owl. It looked too big for a normal owl, but what else could it be? Perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her. Regardless, she was headed in the same direction that the mysterious shape had been going. Maybe she would see it.

If she hadn't been looking out for that shape, she wouldn't have seen it. Nestled away, just far enough that she couldn't make it out, was a dark little shape. It didn't look like anything else in her surroundings. Maybe it was something, but maybe it was nothing. She stood still, looking after it, wavering on what to do. Surely a peek couldn't hurt? Then she would know for sure.

Years of training and missions had honed Sakura's night vision, and she had only just set out toward the object when she realized what it was. It was an encampment where there shouldn't have been one. As an apprentice to the Hokage, Sakura knew exactly which ninja was doing what, and where they were, at all times. There were no missions scheduled anywhere outside Konoha in the Land of Fire. At least, none this far away from any urban centres. She had no choice but to investigate.

For the second time that night, the canvas tent flap was brushed aside, and a stranger stumbled into the tent. It was darker here without the moon overhead, and Sakura resorted to fumbling blindly in her pack for some source of light. Her fingers closed over a small piece of round plastic. Her emergency flashlight. The batteries wouldn't last for extended periods of time, but it was perfect for times like this.

There was a young man sprawled on the ground. He was soaked through with blood, and the dark liquid had spilled onto the ground, soaking the canvas floor. A kunai laid blood stained on the ground, incriminating evidence of foul play. Sakura tossed it aside. Various bags and equipment were scattered about the room, but Sakura paid them little mind. Instead, she dashed to the wounded man's side. Smears of blood streaked his face, and it was obvious that some one had tried to clean off his face. Sakura's heart leapt. He looked so much like Sasuke-kun. But Sasuke hadn't been back to the Land of Fire in over three years.

Sakura forced her mind back to the situation at hand. He had a feeble pulse, but a pulse nonetheless She drew out a medical kit from her pack and set to work. First things first, she had to clean off all this blood. With great care, she set to work, uncovering the pale face beneath the gore. Two worry lines creased the stranger's face. Something tweaked Sakura's memory, but she pushed it back. The features were so like Sasuke's that it was hard enough to focus. Under he touch, Sakura could feel his life ebbing. She had to hurry. But maybe it was too late; she could barely tell anymore. Sakura summoned all of her chakra and poured it into the healing. The green glow that normally emanated from her hands was creeping up her wrists and she cried out as she drained herself of stamina.

Finally, Sakura could not stand to lose anymore chakra; she was at her limit. Anything more and she would end up like the man before her. Had it worked? She couldn't be sure. The wounds would have been fatal, in fact, the man was practically dead already. Judging by the state of he congealed blood, they couldn't be fresh wounds either, that made it more difficult. Sakura desperately yanked back an eyelid; her chakra was too depleted even to gauge life.

A red pupil stared back at her. Of course. How could she not have realized?

It was Itachi Uchiha she had just helped. The murderer responsible for Sasuke's anguish was sitting on the brink of death, and she had brought him back. She let go of his face, and the eye blinked, returning to a deep black colour. Itachi was waking up. The healing had not been able to completely heal him, Sakura knew that, but it had been enough to return him to consciousness.

"Hmm." He grunted, before shitting his eyes and beginning to stir. Sakura beamed the lightly wildly around for something to use as a weapon. There was something black and cloud-patterned in the corner – a pack of some sort? Sakura dove toward it, but stopped, her heart in her throat. That could not be a backpack. Backpacks did not have long, blond hair. The thing she had mistaken for a knapsack raised its head and Sakura found herself staring into a face she had never seen before. But it seemed to know her.

"You." Was all it said.

A/N: So, no pairing yet. Well, nothing obvious. You shall have to wait and see. And just to be evil, I left in a cliffhanger. Ooh.

Reviews would be nice. I would like that. Thanks for reading this far!