The beginning of a spider web starts with one single strip of thread. The beginning of a fake life begins with one small lie. To keep them up, you continue with the false truth. Only ending up with a web of lies that you cannot run from.

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"How am I supposed to get two stones that don't even exist!" Sakura yelled at herself. She stood in Tsunade's office, trying to conceive a plan. "I can get him the Kihaku Stone though… but how?" Her eyes scanned the desk, and immediately thought of a plan. "Tsunade must have some mission that is close to the Land Of Waves." She looked through the contents, and found what she was searching for. Grabbing the large stack of mission orders, she began to shuffle through him. Several months ago, Tsunade had granted her the permission to proofread the missions, even change them if necessary.

"A rank b mission to the Land of Waves requiring three shinobi to retrieve an important document from Tazuna. That's perfect!" Sakura looked at the shinobi who were assigned to it, and found that she was one of the members, along with Naruto and Shikamaru. "When was Tsunade planning on telling us…" Sakura mumbled, blaming the Hokage's love of sake for this late announcement.

She had to get that stone soon, so she decided to tell Naruto and Shikamaru herself. She called Shizune and told her to get them both and bring them to Tsunade's office packed and ready to go.

"Does Tsunade mind?" Shizune asked.

"She should be grateful that I'm taking over her job while she sleeps all day." Sakura smiled as she watched Shizune leave.

"I was planning on telling you that as soon as I woke up." Tsunade played with her ponytails as she walked in the office. "I didn't expect to sleep the whole time." Sighing, she shuffled through the large pile of documents on her desk. "Nothing important…"

"Well, I'll be going on a mission, so make sure you don't sleep the whole time." Sakura picked up her bag she used for missions. The bag was left at Tsunade's office for safe keeping, knowing that she felt much better with it being around all times.

"Yeah, yeah. I know what to do." Tsunade shooed Sakura out, handing her the mission scroll.

Meeting Shikamaru and Naruto on the way out, Sakura explained to them what the mission was. Originally, the mission wasn't very important, so they could have left any time the wanted. But Sakura was in a hurry, so she told them that they were going to leave right there and then.

"Why are we going now?" Naruto asked, but Sakura shushed him.

"The sooner the better!"

"So troublesome…" Shikamaru whined. But he was glad that this got him out of helping Ino clean her house.

From there, the three left, heading to the familiar Great Naruto Bridge.

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"We're here… now what?" Naruto asked. Sakura was just wondering the exact same question.

"We find Tazuna." Shikamaru added in. "You've met him before, right?"

"Well, yeah. But it's been along time. I kinda forgot where he lived…" Naruto sheepishly laughed, trying to make the situation lighter. "Sakura, did the mission say where he was?"

"Umm… no." Truthfully, Sakura was never even thinking about the actual mission. Her focus was on the Kihaku Stone. But now that she was here… what was the next step?

"Naruto! Sakura!" Sakura turned to see a middle aged bald guy running towards them. Without the gray hair, it was hard to tell that it was Tazuna, but he still had the same tacky glasses. "And you must be Shikamaru. I've heard all about you."

Sakura blinked. How did he know who Shikamaru was? Sharing the same looks, Sakura guessed the Shikamaru must've been curious as well. But Naruto was his usual self.

"Hey! You lost your hair!" Naruto pointed to where the sun glinted off his pale head. Sakura took Naruto by the ear and dragged him away.

"Be polite!" She scolded him.

"Do you have the document we're suppose to retrieve?" Shikamaru asked. Tazuna nodded and motioned for them to follow him. He led them to the same house as the last time they were here.

'This was our first mission…' Sakura thought sadly. 'Team 7…'

"Where's Tsunami and Inari?" Naruto asked. He was staring at the picture of Tsunami and Inari together.

"Well, actually…" Tazuna faltered a bit. "They both died a while ago. They got sick…" Naruto ducked his head while Shikamaru shook his silently. Sakura looked over to Tazuna shocked, but his face remained passive.

"I'm very sorry." She said, and got a nod as a reply.

"This is what you must give to Tsunade, and only Tsunade." Tazuna took a small scroll from his kitchen table and handed it to Sakura. His eyes locked on to her immediately, and seemed to be trying to tell her something.

"We'll deliver it safely. I assure you that." Shikamaru went to take it from her, but Tazuna interrupted.

"I'd rather have Sakura carry it. She's seems to most capable." Sakura blinked, clearly confused. As she held the scroll, she saw the same look from before, an almost desperate look.

"Fine…" Shikamaru sighed, troubled.

"Do you have a place to stay? Perhaps you should stay here." Tazuna offered.

"Actually, we should be getting back." Shikamaru looked at Naruto who nodded in return.

"Hold it now, who says we can't stay. I'm pretty sure we're all tired." Sakura laughed and looked pleasantly at Tazuna. "We'll be taking that offer."

"Yeah. I am kind of tired!" Naruto energetically cheered.

"So troublesome." Shikamaru looked at Naruto who was supposed to be 'tired'.

"Well now, I'll show you to your rooms." Tazuna lead them to the first door. "Naruto, this will be yours. Shikamaru, yours is the one across from him. And Sakura, if you'll follow me." Sakura left Naruto and Shikamaru to their rooms, and entered the very last one in the hall.

"This is a nice room." The walls were decorated with a pale pink, and as the pillows rested softly on a bright aqua comforter, Sakura noticed something odd on the bed stand. A small seashell sat stiffly, shaking with every hard footstep on the wooden ground. The seashell was rainbow colored, with each line a different shade.

"So sorry, I must have left it there!" Tazuna hurried to the seashell and stuffed it in his pocket. Sakura noticed how jumpy he became.

"This scroll was never to be read to Tsunade." Sakura said.

"You're very attentive." He almost smiled. "No, it's not for Tsunade. Lets see if you can solve the riddle first. Then you may read it." With that, he walked out of the room, leaving her behind to stare at the scroll.

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"Sakura is acting weird… right?" Naruto asked Shikamaru. The two have been in Naruto's room since Sakura left to her own.

"All women act weird." Shikamaru stared out the window, cloud gazing.

"I guess… but don't you feel a little suspicious? I mean Tazuna only wanted Sakura to hold the scroll."

Shikamaru looked at the blonde, silently wondering when he became so alert.

"People change…" Shikamaru said, and began thinking of a million different examples.

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Sakura stared at the opened scroll extremely frustrated. The only way to see what it says was to answer a very annoying riddle. A riddle with a very easy answer.

I wreak havoc to those who use me, yet I give essence to those who receive me.

"A stupid, fake, not real 'Sosei Stone'." Sakura said into the paper. As if by magic, the words reformed, leaving a completely new sentence.

What needs me is dead. Yet what I need is in a den.

Sakura thought about that for a while. What needs a Sosei Stone, is the dead body, and what the Sosei Stone needs…

"The Kihaku Stone." She spoke. Once again, the words altered. But this time, the words reshaped it into lines. Standing before her was now a map. The map had a straight line from Tazuna's home, into the ocean where the Great Naruto Bridge was built. The line continued under the water, into a small hole.

"A den is a cave…" Sakura mused. "The Kihaku Stone is in the cave, under the water."

"Sakura-chan finally got it!" Startled, Sakura turned to the window. Two uninvited men stood just before her.

"It took you long enough-un." Deidara snatched the scroll away from her.

"Hey! Give that back!" She quickly shut up when Deidara gave her a bloodcurdling look. "Well-if-you-need-it-that-bad-you-can-keep-it-I-mean-I-already-saw-it-so-techincally-what's-to-say-that-you-can't…." Deidara looked bored, however, he scanned Sakura suspiciously.

"You don't have to be scared of Deidara-senpai! Tobi knows that he can be mean but he only acts that way for show!"

"Hey! Don't say things that aren't true-un!" Deidara knocked Tobi in the head viciously while he eyed the map. Sakura noticed the tongues on Deidara's hands.

"Tobi is sorry!!"

Sakura looked utterly confused. Were Akatsuki members suppose to be this carefree? Especially when there were people in the next room? And why did he have tongues on his hands?

"This is where the Kihaku Stone is-un?" Deidara showed Tobi the map, which nodded in return, still sad over their mini-fight. "Why haven't you gotten it already-un?"

"I… well… I just…I just found out where it was…" Sakura took a step back, feeling uneasy.

"That's no reason for laziness-un." Deidara watched as the kunoichi grew a violent red in the face.

"Don't you call me lazy! If you want that stone then you get it yourself!" Sakura fired at him. Tobi flinched at her yelling, while Deidara wondered what happened to the stuttering little girl.

"That wouldn't be necessary-un. I thought you wanted to join us, how would you do that if I'm the one who is handing the stone to Leader-un?" Deidara angrily glared at her.

"Getting the stone isn't the hard task. It was the research that was the most difficult. Plus, you have no idea where the Sosei Stone is either, so don't go all macho on me." Truthfully, Sakura had no idea where she would find this 'Sosei Stone'. Right now, she was treading on thin ice.

"You little brat-un!" The two stood scowling at each other.

"Someone is coming, Deidara-senpai." Tobi walked near the door and rested his head on the wall. "Someone with loud footsteps."

"Everyone has loud footsteps walking on wood-un!" Deidara took a quick peak outside, and saw an old man turning the corner. "That's the guy who gave you that scroll right-un?" he asked Sakura.

"Yeah, that's Tazuna-san."

"He's a fake-un." Sakura saw a small flicker of anger in Deidara's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked as Tobi sat down on the floor.

"His chakra is fake, he isn't alive-un." Deidara shut the door quickly. "You have to get that stone, now-un." With one look towards him, Tobi hurried to the window and opened it.

"Now? But!" Tobi pushed Sakura out the window. Deidara grabbed the scroll and followed them.

"The bridge isn't that far from here." Tobi said as they raced towards it.

"Stop! What happened to Tazuna, and why are you afraid of him?" Sakura reached out to grab Deidara's cloak, but he looked away.

"We aren't afraid of him, but we need to get that stone and take it to Leader as soon as we can-un. And as far as I know kunoichi, the real Tazuna is dead-un."

"But…" A sharp pain in her side interrupted Sakura. She pulled out a thin kitchen knife and quickly healed the wound. Tazuna stepped out from behind a building and rushed towards them. Deidara took his hand and hid it into his clay bag. His hand came out with several small clay birds. As they flew towards Tazuna, he muttered, 'Katsu' under his breath.
The birds all exploded. The impact left Tazuna on the ground, breathing hard.

"Come on!" Tobi took Sakura's hand and rushed towards the bridge.

"What about?" Sakura turned around to see Deidara attacking Tazuna with more bombs. "He's going to kill him!" Sakura yelled.

"Deidara-senpai isn't going to kill anything but a puppet." Tobi said. Sakura looked up to him shocked. She was about to say something when they arrived at the bridge.

"It says that it's right down there." Sakura said.

"Does Sakura-chan want to go, or should Tobi go?" Tobi asked her.

"I'll go." Sakura said and dived under. She was skilled in holding her breath for long amounts of time. She looked for any sign of an entrance, but found none. Her hands scanned the wall, and eventually she found an uneven area. Pushing into it, she found that it was a door. The door creaked open and eventually led to a small tunnel. She swam in and was surrounded by dirty, moss-covered walls. The water began to dim little by little, and soon she found herself coming out of a small pond. Her hands quickly reached for ground, and were met with cold marble. She got out of the water completely and looked around. A small room surrounded her, with marble floors and walls. There were no doors, nothing, expect for a small stand in the right corner. Carefully, she stepped towards it. The stone itself was as big as her palm, and shone a bright gold, although there was barely any light in the room. The glossy surface transfixed Sakura, as she found herself staring into her reflection.

"The Kihaku Stone…" She whispered. Her hands encircled it, and carefully lifted it. The stone itself was so light; it felt as if she was carrying a feather in her hands. Instantly, the wall behind it opened. Gasping, Sakura could only stare in horror as a flood of water rushed in. The current swept her off her feet, and she soon found herself inside the small tunnel. She got a tighter grasp on the stone, and swam until she collided with a hard wall. She pushed against it, but it would budge.

Knowing she wouldn't last any longer underwater, Sakura pushed chakra into her palms, and pounded the wall as hard as she could. The minute the door jammed open, her mouth involuntarily opened, swallowing a mouthful of water. Still holding the stone, she speedily swam up until her head shot out of the water. She climbed back up and fell onto the ground, gasping for her life. A loud thump met her ears. She looked up and saw Tazuna's smashed up body land in front of her, clearly dead.

"Sakura-chan got the stone!" Tobi yelled and helped her up.

"Y-yeah." She mumbled and looked at Deidara. He stared at the body and kicked it. "That Tazuna puppet gave your two teammates a sleeping drug."

"So that was a puppet…" She muttered.

"Yeah-un."

"And only one person I know can make a puppet out of a human…" Sakura couldn't believe it.

"Yeah-un."

"It was Sasori-san's work." Tobi said. "Deidara-senpai's former partner."

Sakura looked up at Deidara shocked. She had no idea Sasori was his partner.

"And you're the little brat who killed him-un." Deidara took Tobi's arm and vanished, with an evil glare towards Sakura.

She collapsed on all fours, trying to regain her breath. "Damnit." She whispered. Sasori was supposed to be dead… but… he wasn't. Not only that, but it appeared that the Akatsuki and him weren't on good terms.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto ran up to her, followed by Shikamaru. "What the hell happened?!"

Sakura just stared at him, thinking about her next lie.

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"Such a pity…" Tsunade said while staring at Naruto, Shikamaru and Sakura. "That the Akatsuki had to kill a whole family, and then trick you to get Naruto."

"Yeah! But Sakura-chan sure showed them!" Naruto tried to get Sakura to smile, but only got a small hint of annoyance instead.

"Well, nice work Sakura. I'll be sure to alert everyone about the Akatsuki. Naruto, I want you to be careful." She ushered them all out of her office. On the way home, Sakura declined Naruto's offer of dinner.

"But some other time…" She smiled. Naruto frowned and gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." She watched as he walked away. Taking out the Kihaku Stone from her bag, she stared into her reflection, then at Naruto again.

"You're welcome…" She whispered into the silent air.

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It will start with one simple lie. Just a small lie to save someone from the truth. But that one simple lie can turn into a web of lies… Eventually, you wont know what's true, and what's false.