Due to the General having to meet up with an officer in a town a few hours away, the Lieutenant was in charge until he got back. The soldiers waited quietly, albeit nervously for his commands. It was right after lunch and they were all looking at Sasori expectantly.

"You're free to do whatever you please the rest of the day." he said nonchalantly. The soldiers were stunned.

" U-Um... sir?" someone inquired from the back, "What do you mean by that exactly?"

"The afternoon belongs to you. You can go fishing, sleep, take a walk- I don't care. The only thing you need to remember is to be back in the camp before nightfall. Now scat."

The group dispersed and Sakura walked to the gate where her friends were waiting.

"Maybe you should reconsider doing this. Seiichi." Shikamaru suggested. Sakura waved him off with a confident grin.

"You guys are worrying over nothing. I'll be in there an hour and come back fine, you'll see." she said. She turned to Sasuke. "Then you'll have to live up to your end of the bet."

Five of them watched with worry as she walked into the dark forest with her red cloak, and the sixth was starting to regret giving the challenge.

The afternoon sun's rays didn't reach down on the forest floor, yet the deeper you went in, the more things began to glow. The mossy ground lit up around her feet every time she took a step, and fireflies buzzed around despite it still being day. Not that you could tell from within the forest. Crickets chirped lazily and frogs croaked every now and then.

"Now... for the thing that howled last night..." she muttered. Sakura continued on walking in the forest. It was nice, quiet, and more serene than anything. A twig snapped behind her.

The forest was hushed into silence and all the fireflies had disappeared, leaving Sakura in darkness.

"Little Red... Little Red... why in the world would you walk into this forest all alone?" a voice questioned. "Has no one told you how many foolish humans have died because they have stepped foot in my Lord's territory?"

She looked around her and saw nothing but the trees.

"I apologize. I wasn't aware, but I will leave right away if that is what you want." she answered. She saw a blur of silver in the corner of her eye, but it was gone as quick as it came.

"What I want? What I want is to continue my nap, but I know that I cannot. It should be my duty to kill you." the voice replied, "But... You do not smell of fear nor arrogance like those before you. I may spare your life if you give me a reason why I should let you live."

"Honestly... You have all the right to kill me. You said before that this is your master's land and it is entirely my fault for being here. I didn't mean to intrude, I just need to stay here an hour before going back to the battle camp." Sakura answered truthfully.

"Little Red... are you not afraid to die?"

She shrugged.

"As a child, I've stared at death in the face far more times than you would believe. Eventually, I stopped being frightened and would find a way to evade, much to my luck. But that was a time before I had a mother and a brother."

There was silence before Sakura felt something behind her. She turned around slowly and saw an enormous silver wolf towering over her. His eyes were black and gazed down at her softly, much to her surprise.

"Very well, Little Red. You will live for now, but I will tell my master that you have stepped foot in these woods. Be back tonight when this day becomes the next, and your fate will be decided then. Come alone. If you do not show, there will be dire consequences on behalf of my Lord, not myself." he said. The large wolf disappeared before her very eyes and she took a few seconds to herself. The fireflies came back into view, and the crickets and frogs restarted their soothing songs.

Sakura retreated back the path and out into the diminishing sunlight where the six of her friends gathered around her.

"Safe? Unharmed? Unafraid? HAHAHA! Teme, you lost the bet, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed. "Let's go, let's go, let's go! I wanna see you do it once everyone comes back!"

The others were ushered ahead, leaving Hidan with Sakura. Once he saw the frown lines in her forehead, he knew something was wrong.

"What happened in there, Sakura?" he questioned softly.

"Seiichi." she corrected, her lips tilting upward, "I'm completely fine, really. Now come on, I want to see Sasuke live up to what he owes me."

She grabbed his arm and tugged him to the camp where the soldiers had gathered around Sasuke who apparently had an announcement. Unknown to them, the Itachi and Sasori were watching from inside one of the large tents. Sasuke took a deep breath and, in a very loud voice and straight face, stated-

"Sometimes at night, I get lonely, and I pretend my weapons have feelings and I have a deep conversation with them. Also, if you tickle me, I giggle like a little girl and will dance around like a unicorn doing the chacha with really big lollipop in the shape of a dick."

It took a few moments for everyone to digest what just happened before the camp swelled with laughter at the most random thing they have ever heard. Sasori snickered quietly and Itachi watched the scene unfold with a quirk to his lips.

"Looks like he lost the bet after all." Sasori mused. The General looked over to his Lieutenant.

"This was the aftermath of a bet?" Itachi asked. The redhead nodded, his face still plastered with amusement.

"Sasuke bet that Seiichi wouldn't last half an hour in the woods just outside the camp." he explained. Itachi's ears perked up at this as his eyes narrowed, "Seiichi came out unscathed, and this is what he had to do as a result of that."

Smoldering black eyes glued themselves on the form of pink haired soldier who was laughing along with the others. From what he could see, the boy truly had no injuries. He himself had been told never to journey into that particular forest for those who went in never came out. And those who had managed to escape died within the hour due to heavily sustained wounds. Suspicion was slowly crawling through and the same question he thought a month ago had resurfaced.

Who in the world was Seiichi Haruno?

Dinner was as lively as usual, and the table at the northern corner had it's usual occupants who were sharing a hearty laugh.

"That was the best fucking thing ever!" Hidan crowed. Sasuke shot him a menacing glare then continued to sulk quietly. Naruto stretched his arms over his head with a happy sigh.

"Man, all this fun makes me want sata andagi." he pouted. Hidan and Sakura agreed with him, but the others sent them confused gazes.

"What's sata andagi?" Tobi questioned. Naruto gaped at him and stood from his seat.

"You... You've never had sata andagi?"

"No...?"

"You haven't lived, dattebayo!"

Sakura forced Naruto to sit back down.

"Sata andagi is deep fried dough, basically. There's flour, eggs, and sugar, and even though it's simple, it's one of the best desserts you could have." she explained.

"That's sold downtown, right?" Chouji asked. She nodded and they witled.

"I guess that can explain it, then." he continued, "We're nobles- we've never stepped foot downtown. When we get out of this war, you think you could take us around to see downtown? Maybe?"

Sakura smiled.

"Of course we can!"

Dinner was continued on that pleasant note. Afterwards, they were sent just outside the camp where twenty targets were lined up side by side. The soldiers were ushered into lines a hundred yards away, and the first person in each line was given a bow. Itachi stood before them, impassive as ever.

"Six arrows must be placed in the center so you may be able to take your leave." he informed curtly.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Everyone's heads swiveled to the third row from the left to see six arrows clustered in the red dot on the center of one of the targets. Quiet chuckles rippled through the men as Itachi's eye twitched with annoyance.

"I finished. I can go now, right?" Sakura questioned innocently. The General managed to push down an irritated sigh and gave the 'boy' a pointed stare.

"Tend to the horses in the field, round them up, and put them back in their stables at the camp." he ordered. With a cheeky grin and mocking eyes, Sakura saluted and walked away. Sasori smirked.

"He's getting the better of you."

"Be silent."

::

Sakura fed Katsuyu a carrot and stroked her silky black mane. A white horse nudged her from the back. She chuckled and fed Yashiro, Itachi's horse, a carrot as well.

"Seiichi. A word."

She turned around and saw Itachi walk up to her with hard eyes. She gave him a lazy salute before turning back to the horses.

"What do you need, General? I've got the horses no problem, but if you have some issue with it you can go shove it up y-"

"Were you in the forest earlier?" he asked.

"Well, you see-"

He spun her around and took a step forward. Their noses almost touched as he glared harshly her way.

"A yes or no question. Where you in the forest or not?" he hissed.

"Yes sir. I was." she answered mildly.

"Never go in there again. That is an order."

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Wha-"

"Do not question the orders I give, soldier. Do not set foot in those woods or you will be punished." he growled. Sakura watched him go with confusion. Once he disappeared from the horse's grazing fields, she grinned.

"Oh but General, I have a tendency of not listening to you!" she called out. Ten minutes from midnight, Sakura's head poked out of her tent and she looked around. Nobody was around. Silently, she stepped out and adjusted her sword at her side. She looked around once more before pacing out of the camp and into the forest.

Unlike the last time she entered, the fireflies weren't buzzing about and the creatures weren't singing to their hearts content. It was deathly silent, and the phosphorescent moss gave the only light in the pitch black forest. Suddenly, the large silver wolf appeared before her.

"My master has decided what to do with you. His orders surprise me, but I will follow without hesitation." he informed lightly. "He wasn't too thrilled that you have wandered into his forest, but he thinks you could be of use to him. My Lord is not asking for much- just a small removal."

"Removal?" Sakura echoed. The wolf nodded.

"Removal. Years back, humans came into this forest and slaughtered many creatures, including my kind. Then then built a tower laced with magic, put a young human and an older one inside, and sealed off the doors. Little woodland animals visit them often and bring them food, seeing as he cannot escape the tower on his own, but creatures like me cannot approach it due to it's magic repellant, which is where you come in. If you take him away from here, you may return to this forest for as long as you please."

Sakura considered this. This Lord, whoever he was, wasn't asking for much. And hey, you couldn't have too many allies, could you?

"What exactly is 'your kind'?" she questioned out of the blue.

"Skin changers. My species consists of wolves and dogs who are able to turn human, though most of us prefer our normal forms. Now that you know, will you do my Lord's bidding?"

His eyes were strangely hopeful, and she sighed.

"Why not? But if I am to do this, can I at least have your name?"

The wolf sat back on his haunches.

"Kakashi Hatake, Little Red."