Ah, the fourth chapter. I'm surprised that I've managed to get this far with this uh…incomplete plot Anyways, I'm glad that –whoever is actually reading this.- is uh… reading this.. XD but anyways, the fourth chapter to The Hatter.

~.~

Sakura took a deep breath, unable to contain the smile that split over her face. The air was clean and fresh, and made her loosen up. She felt…clean.

With a nod to the guards, Sakura was admitted out of the gates, her small light-weight pack resting on her back. She also had several kunai's holstered to her left leg and several shuriken in a pouch on her right. Being ambidextrous with her weapons was a talent only learned through years of practice.

The sun was setting, turning the sky a mottled orange and pink, hints of purple pulled into the mix- altogether a good time to get started.

Prince Suzuki was awaiting her in a small outpost village, just inside the boarders of Rain territory. She was to intercept his caravan and escort him to Leaf. Simple enough, but there was a persistence threat to his life, one that Sakura would not permit to hinder her.

Sakura pumped chakra into her feet, and used the added power to vault herself into the surrounding trees- this route was much faster than just traveling through the underbrush, seeing as every plant down there wanted to tear and grab at her clothes.

Looking up into the fading sun, Sakura increased her pace- she needed to get to Rain within three days if she were to make the scheduled date. Now, all that was left to do was find a place to camp, and then she would be off…

~.~

Darkness encroached on Sakura's small camp, her fire had just winked out, nothing but glowing embers left to light the small cramped clearing she had found. She hadn't been able to get to sleep, seeing as every time she closed her eyes, images from earlier today seeped behind her closed eyelids.

Sakura sighed, she needed to sleep if she were going to make it through the day- being sluggish on a mission wasn't a good idea.

Stretching her arms above her head, Sakura concentrated on her breathing- setting a slow deep pace for her lungs and heart to follow. If she couldn't actually go to sleep, then she would just have to force her body into a state of rest.

Sakura smiled, she could feel her body accepting it. Her heart rate slowed as did her breathing, but she didn't feel at all drowsy. "I should do this more often…" She mumbled to herself, eyes straining ahead at the formless shadows.

The pink haired ninja wrapped her small blanket around her shoulders, trying to preserve some warmth. She yawned once, then settled back into the tree's hallow she was resting in.

A branch snapped in the distance and Sakura sat up- alert. Her eyes were widened. She able to see just beyond the clearing.

"Sakura…"

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

"Sakura… won't you join me?"

A startled gasp left her lips.

"You can't run."

The voice was right next to her. She could feel hot breath fan against her ear. Sakura jolted her head to the side, attempting to face her tormentor. But no one was there.

Nothing but the empty dark formless shadows.

~.~

"Are you Haruno Sakura?" The pink haired ninja turned around to face the large man. He had a short sword handing from his waist and was wearing all black; a too-small mask was strung across his face, barely covering a thick and tangled beard. Hired body guards. How nice.

"Depends on who's asking. Who are you?" She asked, her eyes narrowing with distrust. The man gave her a long searching look.

"Tsunade was supposed to send us a ninja…" He trailed off, looking around the small trade post village, more than likely to see if someone was listening in to their conversation.

"Ah," Sakura said, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm sorry for being rude, you must be Hibachi. Hokage-sama said that I was supposed to meet you here…to discuss our… package." She lingered over the last word, aware of eyes on her back. "Should we move to a quieter place?" She all but whispered.

Hibachi smiled and nodded, grasping her upper arm lightly and directing her to one of the better looking hotel's across the wide street. Once inside Sakura relaxed a bit, although she was still wary of the number of people crowded into the foyer of the building.

"This way. Upstairs." He said quietly, giving the entire room a once over.

Sakura followed the man's instructions, and walked up the rickety staircase. Hibachi walked to the very end of the hallway, and knocked five times on the oaken door. There was an answering knock.

He smiled and pushed the door open, Allowing Sakura to enter first.

The room was plain, with but a small single bed and a wardrobe off in the far corner. Sitting in a wooden chair in front of the single window was a boy. He wasn't much older than Sakura, maybe a year or two. There was another guard standing in the corner of the room. He moved to cover the door.

Sakura immediately bowed by the waist, now knowing that this was the famed Prince Suzuki.

He looked at Sakura warily, "Please don't do that…" Suzuki complained. "Just treat me as a normal person. I am Suzuki, and you are?" The prince smiled, his ice blue eyes closing in the process as he extended his left hand for her to shake.

Sakura outstretched her right and took his hand, grinning at him. "I am Haruno Sakura, charged with escorting you to Konoha." She released her grip and nodded at Hibachi.

"I was planning on leaving in the morning. We would arrive at Leaf within a week." The pink haired woman said. "I need to stock up on a few things…"

"But, Haruno-san, it only took you three days to get here… why would it take seven for the return trip?" Hibachi asked, giving her a puzzled look.

Sakura shot him an incredulous one in return. "I ran." Was her simple answer, and then she turned to the Prince.

"I need to know, as a precautionary, how good are you with a weapon?" She asked her eyes serious. Suzuki looked at her oddly.

"Well… I took lessons with a sword when I was younger…" Sakura shook her head.

"No good. Okay then… I am going to need to stock up on some things. I'll be back here by tonight. Will you be good with staying a little longer Hibachi? I know that you were supposed to be relieved of duty when I got here…"

"Of course, Haruno-san. I'll stay as long as I am needed. We will see you later on tonight." He smiled beneath his mask.

"Alright then, I'll be back by sunset." And with that she was out the door, closing it gently behind her.

Now, all that was left was to find a weapons shop… that was, if they had one.

Sakura sighed and pushed her way outside the still crowded foyer.

~.~

Well, fourth chapter is done! And I'm happy to say that it is a lot longer than the third. I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think… oh… and if you find any grammatical errors… let me know so that I can fix them XD Thanks for reading!