Author's Note: I'm not getting as large a response as I had hoped for this story. Luckily for the few people who read this fic I've fallen in love with it! ^^ I really do love this story - it's my favorite idea that I've come up with yet. Of course, I had to change it because a certain someone - who I've dedicated this chapter to - figured out my evil plot. Sadface. But no worries! Because she forced me to change the plotline, it's a lot more original and I like it even better than my first idea. Happyface. So I will continue with this story because I love it so much but because of that The Life of the Child will probably be put on hold. Sorry readers!

Anyway, you guys may get confused in this chapter and things will probably not make sense - especially since it's so short X( . The events will explain themselves in either the next chapter or the one after that. So be patient and keep supporting me! ^^

Oh yes, and there is a link to a picture of Naruto's Outfit on my Profile Page.

Chapter Dedication: Thank you Sakura's Indecision for being my one and only reviewer for Chapter Two and for also rearranging my story so that it became that much better. ^^ Thanks for also reviewing other stories of mine. I'm hoping you become a fan of this story!

Disclaimer: Even though I've just had my birthday, I am no closer to owning Naruto than I was the year before.

Chapter Three: All Over the Place

Name: Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke made sure to be consciously aware of clenching and unclenching his fists. The awareness kept his mind occupied and distracted from what Haruchi had just revealed to him. He wasn't even sure why he thought to believe what she had said; she was a bandit after all – a banished renegade. Why did he automatically assume that what she had said was the truth?

'Because Sakura never lies.' was the only answer his mind provided. But that was absurd. It was Haruchi who had spoken to him, not Sakura! But why did his brain act as though the two were one and the same? Was it because Haruchi had a similar look? Sasuke quickly dismissed the idea. The shape of her face and her hair style were the only things that she matched Sakura for in appearance. As for personality…

Sasuke had never remembered a time when Sakura was as childish as Haruchi. Sakura had always had a rather mature and confident air around her, one that told people that she held authority. Haruchi was nearly an exact opposite. She possessed a very immature nature and seemed like one to make a game out of everything – she struck Sasuke as the kind of person who would follow anyone that she liked without question and with a goofy grin on her face. But she stood with a confident posture too, as though she'd let you hold the reigns until she believed you incapable of leading her.

'Yes,' Sasuke thought, 'she gives the impression that she could do very well without social interaction but she wouldn't shy away from companionship either.'

So perhaps it was the confidence that she put into her words that made the Uchiha believe her so readily. Or perhaps he was still recovering from the shock of finding himself in this situation and wasn't thinking straight. No matter the reason, he wasn't able to make sense of his mind's chaos before Haruchi decided to pick up conversation again.

"Got cha!!" she teased.

Sasuke whipped his gaze from his fists to the girl's face. She had a stupid looking grin on her face that reminded him of the ones he had seen Naruto wear. What was with this girl's issue with looking like his teammates??

"What?" he hissed. He was not exactly in a right state of mind and had no problems making sure that the pest was aware of the fact. 'The pest' seemed to have no problems elaborating her earlier statement.

"You thought I meant that she was dead didn't you? Silly Sasu-cakes!" She shook her head and her one finger at him, as though she were scolding a small child. "I only meant that she left the Fire Country!"

And even though he hated to admit it, Sasuke's emotions swung from relief, to despair, then to fury and finally to exhaustion. It was tiring to keep up with the mood swings that the Maki was putting him through. Suddenly, all Sasuke wanted to do was rest and take a break from interrogation. His hangover was still a light throb and he wasn't energized enough to put up with Haruchi's fickle games. Apparently, the 'pest' realized his sudden change of will and patted down his hair with a light smile.

"Have a good nap Sasuke Uchiha. I'll see you when the berry's effects wear off." Tch. So she had practically drugged him when she offered food earlier. Why did that sound so typical?

Sasuke's last thought before surrendering to sleep was, 'Funny. I never thought I'd meet anyone as draining as the dobe.'

Current Status: Resting

Name: Sakura Haruno

Emerald colored eyes opened to nothing. For a moment, the kunoichi panicked over the possibility of her being blind.

"You're eyes work just fine." A voice reassured her. It sounded feminine – and familiar.

Unsatisfied with the answer but comforted that she wasn't alone, Sakura took note of whatever she could. There was a light scraping sound – like two stones rubbing against each other – resonating around her. She was sitting in an upright position and it felt like she was leaning against a cold, damp wall of rock. Perhaps they were in a cave; at least that would explain why she couldn't see. Sakura opened her mouth to ask the familiar-stranger about it but quickly aborted that idea as she became aware of a piercing pain behind her head and a throbbing sensation almost everywhere else. She let out a gasp to release the pain and gently relaxed against the rock wall – it helped ease the pain a little bit.

"You were hit pretty badly when it caved in; you shouldn't move around too much."

Sakura concentrated on breathing deeply. "Yeah, I figured as much."

The scraping sound stopped. "You're awake?"

Sakura raised a brow in confusion. Who was her companion talking to if not her?

"Uh… Yeah."

"Oh. I must have sounded really weird; talking to myself like that." Sakura decided to withhold the secret that she had actually been impressed that Naruto could practically read her thoughts in the dark. "I was actually practicing what to say when you woke up. I wanted to sound cool. Waste of time I guess, now that you found me out."

"Uh-huh…" Sakura was starting to question how she ever came to be in the company of this person. They seemed rather insane.

"Well, anyway, now that you're up, wanna play Twenty Questions?"

"Huh??" Try as she might, Sakura could not hold in her bafflement of this person's behaviour.

"The alternative is sitting in the dark and grumbling about how sore you are. Besides, you must be curious about what happened right? I doubt that you can remember much with that cut on your head."

Sakura gently fingered her skull and hissed when she found the wound her companion was talking about. The 'cut' seemed more like a deep gash to her. Sakura would've liked to heal it then and there but there were a few things stopping her; such as a low level of chakra. Besides, it might be best to learn how and when she got this injury before she tried any healing. It could be infected if it had been left unattended for some time.

"You make a good argument." A light chuckle was heard before Sakura continued. "So who goes first?"

"How 'bout we alternate and take turns asking questions? That way, if anything comes up, you can ask me a new question right away."

"Sounds fair. You wanna start?"

"Unless you want to."

Sakura thought it over. "Nah, you go. I'm sure you've had more time to think up of questions to ask anyway."

The voice scoffed. "I doubt it. You probably had a million questions run through your head when you first woke up. Anyway, my first question is… What is your favorite color?"

Sakura laughed. "That's not very original!"

She didn't rule out the possibility that she was delusional, but Sakura was almost sure that her 'friend' had smiled. "Doesn't matter, it's still my first question. Besides, it not unoriginal; it's a classic."

Sakura giggled again and briefly wondered why she was so comfortable in this person's presence. Maybe this person wasn't a threat to her after all. Or the gash to her head was causing brain damage. Sakura preferred the idea of the first option.

"Whatever you say. And I guess I'd say red."

"That's not very original!" Naruto's voice teased and Sakura couldn't help but laugh again.

"Yeah, yeah. But an unoriginal question deserves an unoriginal answer right? Anyway, my first question will be… What's your name?" Sakura only now realized that she did not have a name to attach to the feminine voice that kept her company and made her laugh. She had previously been referring to the voice as Naruto's despite the obvious difference in gender. Maybe the gash in her head affected her more than she'd be comfortable admitting.

"I'm Haruchi. Do you have any siblings?"

Sakura, in her victory of gaining a name, forgot that she was in blinding darkness and shook her head no before she realized her mistake.

"Nope, I'm the only child. What's your last name Haruchi?"

"It's Maki. Are your parents dead or alive?"

"Haruchi Maki huh? That's a pretty name; I like how it sounds. And both of my parents are alive." Sakura couldn't be sure if she heard Haruchi mutter, 'Lucky' or not but decided to play it safe and strayed away from the topic of parents.

"So… Where are we anyway?"

"Some cave or other. Do you like nighttime or daytime?"

"Mmm… nighttime but I prefer dawn over both of them. Do you know what country we're in?"

"I'm pretty sure we're somewhere in Earth County."

Sakura groaned and fell further back against the rock. Earth's border was at least a five day trip from the Sand Village and she didn't know how deep she was into the country. She was sure to be overdue for her mission; Leaf had probably already sent out a search team to look for her in the Wind County. Her absence of a known location was sure to complicate things but she had faith in her fellow shinobi to find her and bring her home. She just had to be patient and remain calm.

"So why do you like the dawn?"

"It's the only time that I get to myself since I spend the day working at the hospital and the night resting for more work. But nothing happens in the early morning; it's just me and the world and nothing else."

"And you like being alone with the world?"

Sakura wasn't sure if she imagined the cold sting that was embedded in Haruchi's question but her gut feeling was telling her that she was stepping into dangerous territory. She was often good at following her gut instincts, which usually turned out to be right, but this time Sakura found herself to be too curious to resist prying a little bit.

"… Sometimes it's nice."

"And you desire 'nice' things?"

Sakura shrugged in the darkness. "As much as any other person does."

"Then why have you been shying away from your teammates." Haruchi hissed. Sakura was first shocked to find that the question was said as a statement but was then shocked again as she realized what had been asked.

"Wha… What did you say?"

"I asked you," and even in the dark Sakura could feel the piercing glare of the cold, onyx eyes, "why you've been avoiding your partners."

Panicking and shaking her head, Sakura protested, "I haven't been avoiding you Sasuke!"

Sakura gasped as she realized what she had said but her trained ears heard no sign of surprise come from Haruchi's direction. In fact, it only made Sakura confused when she heard Haruchi sigh in what sounded like disappointment.

"You should sleep; your wound must be affecting your skills in recognition. We'll continue our game after you wake up again."

Sakura was about to argue when her wound throbbed again. Perhaps it would be a good idea to rest a while. She certainly couldn't handle any more surprises like Haruchi's cold questions.

So, yawning, Sakura agreed to rest. "That sounds good. But I have one last question: what time is it?"

Drowsing off, Sakura heard a soft sound of laughter before a reply was given.

"There's no way to know Sakura."

Her last conscious thought before she dozed off was, 'I don't remember telling her my name…'

Current Status: Injured and Trapped

Name: Naruto Uzumaki

Two more empty shot glasses were slammed down on the already-crowded table. Hoots and hollers sounded throughout the popular bar as the numerous customers shouted encouragement towards their favorite participant while orbs of stunning blue and black collided and sent waves of tension throughout the competitive air. Bets had already been placed long ago and the suspense was just killing their audience. Naruto smiled at the memory of the girl challenging him to a contest in the first place.

He had been leaning on the back two legs of his chair, both his feet atop the wooden table with his orange jounin vest tossed on the back of another seat. He had hoped to scrap up some information on Sakura and Sasuke if he could – the Uchiha had been lost since yesterday. Naruto wasn't ashamed to say that he was terrified for his friends but losing Sasuke so early on in their search was an unexpected x factor. Now that he had lost both of them, his resolve in his belief of bringing Team 7 home was beginning to lose it's strength.

But then the girl with green hair and black eyes sat down opposite from him and commented on his low behavior. They talked for a while and Naruto quickly found himself liking this person, whoever she was. She ordered drinks for the both of them and rounded up two shot glasses as well. Naruto's energy had returned at the prospect of a challenge and here they were – six shots down and growing in popularity.

"You're not bad at holding your alcohol." Black taunted.

"You're not all that great yourself." Blue shot back.

Green eyebrows rose in amusement at the barb and ignored the 'Ooh's coming from the surrounding crowd. The girl chuckled and picked up the next shot.

"You've got as much spunk as they say, Naruto Uzumaki."

"You know," the blonde said after they both downed their shot, "it's unfair that you know my name when I don't have a clue what yours is."

Haruchi Maki grinned and held up Shot Number Seven in response. "Beat me, and I'll tell you all that you want to know."

"All I want to know huh?" Naruto said as he fumbled for another shot. "And what kind of information would I find valuable?"

Haruchi grinned again and leaned across the table and whispered a secret, one that was only meant for him to hear.

"Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. You don't know where they are, do you? But I have a secret; I do."

His cerulean eyes widened considerably in shock and the girl just pulled away from his ear and held up her shot glass again – almost as if proposing a toast.

"Here's to your hopeful victory."

His eyes grew as cold and sharp as steel. He now had so much more riding on this little drinking contest than he did before. But he would make sure that he won and then he would find Sasuke and they would bring Sakura back home together. He would win… He had to.

So Naruto held his shot up to hers and put on a very serious face. "Too bad for you, seven's my lucky number."

The girl grinned again and Naruto could've sworn that her dark eyes gleamed with mischief and excitement. "Yeah? It's mine too."

And so the late-night contest continued.

Current Status: Fighting