HI EVERYONE!! Thanks so much for the reviews. I'm glad that at least a few people are enjoying this story. As promised, Sasuke will be in this chapter with a few flashbacks as well. (I love writing flashbacks!!) Now then, on with chapter three!!!!

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Chapter 3: Enter Sasuke

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Sasuke Uchiha sat up on his squeaky bed with a yawn. He went over to the dirty window to let some fresh air in the tiny room. He sat back down on the bed and looked out the window to watch the sunrise, a sliver of orange peeking over the horizon. The last time he had watched the sunrise was on a mission with team 7…

FLASHBACK

"Hey, you guys have to see this." Kakashi poked his head into the tent where Sasuke and Sakura were sleeping.

"What is it?" Sakura rolled over in her sleeping bag. "It can't be much later than five-o-clock in the morning."

"Just trust me," Kakashi said. He withdrew his head.

They were on a mission to obtain important information from Sunagakure, or the village hidden in the sand. To everyone's surprise Sasuke had actually volunteered to share a tent with Sakura, mainly because there was no way he was going to sleep in the same tent with Kakashi, it would just be too weird. And the simple fact was nobody should have to sleep next to Naruto, who snored constantly and talked in his sleep. All though he really had no desire to share a tent with Sakura, it was a heck of a lot better than Naruto, so he put up with it.

"Oi guys, come on!" This time it was Naruto who poked his head in. Sasuke bonked him on the head. ('Bonked' is a technical term. P)

"We're coming, you idiot," Sasuke said in a bored tone.

"Yeah Naruto, give us a second," Sakura piped up.

Sasuke and Sakura scrambled out of their sleeping bags and out of the tent. What they saw was nothing short of spectacular. Sakura gasped and even Sasuke's eyes widened. The bright orange sun was about halfway in view. A few lazy pink clouds hovered near it in the yellowish sky.

Sasuke turned to see Naruto's and Kakashi's reactions. Naruto was watching the sun with a grin on his face; Kakashi was watching Naruto's expression with an amused and knowing look, as if he was remembering something. He spotted Sasuke watching him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked. Sasuke nodded his head silently.

END FLASHBACK

He fell back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He knew every inch of that ceiling, down to the last crack and paint smudge. The room wasn't that big to begin with anyway. Basically, it was a little square. It contained a bed in the corner with a little nightstand next to it and a dresser on the opposite wall.

A knock came on the door.

"Yeah," Sasuke said in that same bored voice.

The door slid open revealing the gray-haired medic ninja that Sasuke particularly hated.

"What do you want, Kabuto?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto adjusted his circular glasses before answering.

"Lord Orochimaru wants to see you in five minutes," he said icily.

"Fine," Sasuke replied, pretending not to notice the edge in Kabuto's voice.

As soon as Kabuto slid the door again, Sasuke jumped out of bed and put on his usual clothes. He opened the top drawer of the dresser and removed a rather large katana which he jammed into the purple rope thingy around his waist.

He stepped out into the hallway, turned right, and started walking. At the end of the hallway he turned left into a narrower hallway; two people could barely walk side by side. Doors lined the walls periodically. After walking past about ten doors he stopped at a slightly larger one than the rest and knocked on it.

"Come in," said a voice.

Sasuke turned the door knob and pushed it open. Inside the room, across from him was a desk with a table and two chairs in front of it. Instead of going to sit in one of the chairs he simply leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. There were a few interesting pictures hanging on the walls. Orochimaru sat behind the desk reading a scroll despite the lack of light, there were only two torches on the walls and no windows for natural light. He looked up from whatever he was reading at Sasuke and gave him an evil smile.

"Ah, Sasuke I have a mission for you," Orochimaru hissed and gave Sasuke the creeps.

"What do you want?" Sasuke said to Orochimaru in a why-the-heck-did-you-wake-me-up-at-six-in-the-morning kinda voice.

Orochimaru tossed a scroll at Sasuke, who plucked it out of the air idly.

"Your mission is to assassinate this man." He held up a picture of an older man, probably in his late 50's with grayish-black hair and bright blue eyes. "He is an important politician in the land of lightning and lives just outside Kumogakure. I want him dead."

"Why?" Sasuke asked icily.

"Don't question my motives, Sasuke. You will do as I ask." He paused. "Think of it as a test to prove your skills." He gave Sasuke another evil smile.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He liked to avoid pointless killing if at all possible. He didn't want to become like the very person he wanted to destroy, but for now it seemed that he had no choice and Orochimaru knew it.

"Fine, I'll do it." A little light bulb went on in his head. "On one condition."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Orochimaru said mockingly.

"You will teach me a new technique when I get back."

Orochimaru raised one eyebrow, then lowered it and smiled yet again.

"You learn quick, boy. Deal."

Sasuke exited the room as soon as possible, scroll in hand. He returned to his room and got an old backpack which he jammed some clothes into and some food he snuck from the kitchens. He looked toward the sun which was now fully in the sky. He remembered something else about that mission that seemed so long ago…

FLASHBACK

Sasuke continued to stare at the sunrise. Suddenly, he felt Sakura's hand slip into his and she squeezed it and he squeezed back. He didn't quite know why he did it, but he did. Sakura turned to look at him with a shocked expression on her face. He immediately let go and shoved his hands in his pockets. Sakura blushed and turned away from him. Luckily, Naruto and Kakashi appeared not to have noticed. Now, Kakashi turned toward them.

"Let's go guys; we still have a mission to complete."

END FLASHBACK

Sasuke scolded himself. He couldn't afford to get attached to anyone even if he did want to. Avenging his clan was his main priority.

He left his room and this time turned the opposite direction and walked to a door at the end of the hall that leads outside. He walked out of the building and took off into the trees gratefully; it was good to be out of that dump. He knew that today would be another eighty degree day and it got really hot and stuffy in there. And on top of that, there was no air conditioning.

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Thanks for reading!! Is it just me or does anyone else think the purple rope thing that all the sound people wear is really dumb. How did you like the ending? I must say I thought the whole air conditioning thing was pretty funny. Please review!!

Please read another fanfic my friend and I are writing. It's called Shinobi of WAr. It's kinda based on Kakashi Gaiden.We are desperate for reviews. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!