A/N: For those of you that have been reading this far, thank you! :D Thanks for the reviews too, and I hope you like this chapter! Please tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters.

I ran my fingers against the wall of the cave. The entrance had to be close.

Karin had been gone for a few hours. Probably fuming because she didn't get to fight with the rest of the Akatsuki members.

I felt a sharp pain. I pulled my hand back to see a small gash on my finger. Blood dripped onto the hard floor, staining it. I tried to examine it closer in the dim light, but it was impossible.

I sat down near the other end of the cave. If I acted quick enough, maybe I could get to the entrance in time.

For now, that was the only plan I could come up with. My only hope.

"Hey! Shikamaru!" I shouted.

My friend turned around, his face looked uninterested, "What?" he said wearily.

"You're a chunin!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and continued to walk down the road.

I disappeared underground -- something I had learned to do when Iruka-sensei helped me learn what element my chakra was -- and appeared in front of Shikamaru.

He balked, "Why are you always doing that?"

I shrugged, "It's fun."

We walked a bit further, me chattering about trivial things, Shikamaru listening quietly.

"So," he said, "Naruto's about to go train with that old pervert right?"

I snorted, "How do you know about that?"

But before Shikamaru could reply, we heard a loud yell.

Everything was done when we arrived. Kakashi and Sasuke were on the floor, Naruto looked enraged, and Jiraya looked as if he was doing his best to sort things out.

Naruto later told me that it had been two members from an evil organization called "Akatsuki". One of them, had been Sasuke's own brother.

Itachi Uchiha. The one that slaughtered his own clan.

I sighed, when was Karin coming back?

I stood up and started pacing, how long had I stayed here?

I tried to remember. It had been evening when I had been captured, and it couldn't have been more than a few days.

Or weeks.

Shortly after Sasuke's encounter with Itachi, Naruto left for training.

Sasuke hadn't regained his consiousness yet. Sakura and Ino spent a lot of their time in the hospital visiting him. I remember going with them once, it was sad the way they looked at him.

"I'm leaving." I said, after half an hour had passed, I didn't enjoy spending my time starting at the uncounsious body of someone I had never really liked.

Walking back to my home, I ran into Konohamaru. I saw him with Naruto a lot. Playing ninja, or something.

"Hello Konohamaru." I greeted him.

He was crying.

"Are you alright?" I said softly, the hokage had been his grandfather. Of course it would take more of a toll on him.

"I promised myself," he sniffled, "That I wouldn't cry."

"It's okay to cry, sometimes." I said, "You know it never stopped Naruto."

He snickered, "Yeah. I guess not."

And just like that, he was off again. Out to terrorize the village, I imagined.

It took Naruto and his new sensei to return, but when they did, they brought back the new hokage.

I had heard of Tsunade-sama from Sakura once.

She's the greatest medical ninja that ever lived." Sakura had said proudly, "And from the leaf village too."

Tsunade was able to heal Sasuke and Kakashi. It was a miracle to see them awake from their sharigan-induced coma. Rock Lee was a different story. I had heard from Sakura a few days later that there was a way to heal him, but it was a difficult surgery that could be fatal if not preformed right.

"I'm worried." she confided, "I mean, being a ninja is the only thing I can see Lee doing. But he could die."

I did my best to console her, but my efforts were in vain. Thankfully, Lee did make it through the surgery, coming out good as new. But before that could happen, we lost something greater.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Don't get me wrong, I never really knew the guy. No one did really, except maybe Naruto. I was never too crazy about him either.

But when he deserted the village, I knew that I had to do whatever it took to get him back.