Ok, Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain, just so you know, STOP READING IT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT! No one is forcing you. I don't want another PM from you telling me how much this story sucks ok? Ok. Glad we understand each other. For the rest of you who actually like this story so far, I am sorry, and I hope you continue to read it. XD

Chapter One: Remembrance

"Naruto!!! Hey Naruto!" A blonde man of 19 years of age turned around to see a brown haired man of the same age and statue run towards him. He had red marks on his face and a large dog ran next to him. The blonde, now deemed 'Naruto', smiled lightly in a greeting and stopped walking so the other man could catch up.

"What's up Kiba?" He asked as the dog and man finally caught up to him.

"Wanna… go… Ichiraku?" Kiba gasped out as he doubled over in exhaustion.

"I don't think you need any more fatty food in you Inuzuka, you're unfit enough as it is. Getting tired over a quick jog to the dobe," A deep voice from behind Naruto made him aware that Sasuke was behind him.

"I just got off a mission thank you very much Uchiha," Kiba replied haughtily as he glared at that black haired ANBU captain.

"Excuses, excuses," Sasuke smirked as the Jounin shinobi started to growl.

"Guys! Cool it, would you. Sorry Kiba, I'm not hungry," Naruto smiled sadly as he looked to the sky. "I think I'm going to visit Sakura today…" he trailed off as Sasuke and Kiba shared a glance with one another. "I'm ok guys, really. Stop worrying. I am not going to drastically combust any time soon. I'll be ok." His words gave no reassurance, but Kiba and Sasuke decided they would leave him alone for now.

"Fine dobe, but I don't want to find you in some random corner crying your eyes out," Sasuke's smirk was weaker than usual as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Heh, you know me teme, I'm going to be the next Hokage. I can't waste my time crying. Believe it!" He gave another smile, this one larger but it still didn't reach his eyes. With a small wave he turned and jumped onto the nearest building and made his way to the Shinobi cemetery where he knew his sensei was already there, already paying his respects to all those he knew that had died in combat.

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Only 1000 miles away another conversation was taking place in the deep depths of a watery cave.

"Pein-sama are you sure it's not too soon? They will probably be on alert because of what happened to the Kazekage just a month ago." A husky feminine voice questioned from their stand in the circle.

"Hime, if we do not attack soon the power in this artefact will have gone to waste. Why not attack while they are still damaged by the blow we landed on them?" A soft masculine voice replied from the centre of the circle replied to her question before letting his voice boom throughout the cave.

"Kisame, Hime, Deidara, you will be the retrieval squad. I expect you back in three days or less. Use our chakra to get you to Konoha gates, but use your own to run back. Make sure you aren't followed. Fight them, kill them if you have to. Just make sure no one comes into defiance of my plan for the Kyuubi. Do you understand?"

"Hai!" Three voices in unison replied before three people cloaked in darkness jumped from their pedestal and disappeared in a swirl of water, cherry blossoms and fire.

"Heh, this is where you will meet your downfall… Hime." A deep chuckling echoed in the cave as the man called Pein threw his arms in the air and laughed with so much evil that the remaining few flinched away from him and shivered in fear.

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"Hey Sakura-chan. It's been a while. I haven't been able to visit you since you're… funeral two years ago. You know, they waited two years until they pronounced you dead. They waited two whole years. They continued to look for you Sakura-chan. I continued to look for you. I wanted to believe that you were still out there somewhere, just waiting for me. Waiting for someone to come and rescue you, but I guess I was wrong to think that way." The blonde haired shinobi let out a sad sigh as he turned his cerulean eyes to the sky once more. "I was wrong to think you were still out there. I knew deep down that if you hadn't returned by now you would of course be… dead." He struggled to say the word aloud, but he still continued to speak even though his voice was getting thick with the tears that were falling down his face. "I knew deep down that nothing could keep you away from your home, but still I had hope. I had hoped you would come home. You would come back to Konoha. To me." His eyes fell to the tombstone below him, which had inscribed on it:

Haruno Sakura,

Medic/Chuunin

1990 – 2005

MIA

Beloved Friend, Daughter and Teammate.

RIP

His eyes screwed shut as he let the bunch of cherry blossoms in his hand float to the ground, unaware he was being watched by anger-filled deep emerald eyes.