A/N: Inception has sort of taken over my mind as of late and my priorities are all jumbled up. But here is an update! And if you're a Cobb/Ariadne supporter like me, then let's be friends! ;D

The warmth the sun provided was pleasant and turned Sakura's vision red behind her closed lids. She smiled a bit as she tried to rest and not sleep. Birds were chirping their early morning song, urging her legs to become restless, but Sakura's torso refused and she simply turned her head away from the comforting blanket of light. Her vision grew dark and her cheek warm. She lifted her hand from her waist and brushed her fingers across her cheek and shivered. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the moist mid-winter buds shake gently in the wind. The sight prompted a shiver in herself and she at last gave into the urging of her legs and sat up. It was then the sun decided to disappear behind the clouds that had appeared in the sky while Sakura was not looking and immediately shrouded the world in a blue-gray morning haze. Sakura frowned at the loss of fantasy.

She stood then and gave the wildflower a final look. Soon in would be spring and the flower would look completely different, the world would be completely different. The flower would be open and accepting of the world and its offerings of sunshine and companionship. It would share and smell sweet and make girls smile. Families would name their daughters after that flower. But how long was its bloom? What if all its glory would not come to fruition? What if it was plucked before it was ready? Trampled? What if it was not a flower at all? What if it was a weed? It would stand there and fool the world into believing that it belonged with all the other pretty flowers in the field when in reality, it was destroying its neighbors from the inside out and like a plague, it would destroy every single one of those flowers until it was all alone. Next spring, there would be nothing but white. Or it would be alone?

Sakura brushed the idea aside and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and thought of summer. The ground was soft beneath her feet and her toes were cold. It had only been a few hours since her departure and, truth be told, she had not made much head way and her spirits were low. The idea of turning back and acting as thought nothing was wrong crossed her mind more than once during her walk. For this reason, she felt unhurried, truly believing that the part of her wanting to give up would prevail and it was best to not make the journey back longer than it needed to be. But the possibility that, by now, someone had noticed her absence was just a tiny bit likely. Admittedly not high, but not low enough to completely disregard. If such was the case, then it was best to go back than to wait and get captured. It would be a while, of course, before any search party would go out after her. She had until lunch at least. She wouldn't be able to hold anyone off in a fight easily…

Sakura started to run at last, shaking her head in hope of ridding herself of all negative thoughts. Bravado crept its way to her exterior and she ran with full conviction through the trees and over the waters until she stood at the border between three countries. The air was heavy with the smell of rain, carrying the scent of grass with it.

Standing still for a moment, Sakura regarded her options. She could turn around and return to her home country to the awaiting scolding of her friends and family. She could head west into the country where he was last seen or north where he might have gone. All the false confidence began to fade, leaving her cold and shivering in the approaching storm. The clouds in the distance loomed over both countries, refusing to aid her in a decision. With closed eyes, she inhaled and held onto it, refusing to exhale until she had an answer for herself. A flurry of self-encouraging thoughts rushed through her head, urging her on, telling her that it was like ripping off a band aid and was best done quickly.

So she exhaled and stepped forward, pumping chakra into her feet as the ground began to swallow her whole.

The morning hours ticked by without interruptions in the Haruno household. Mr. Haruno believed it to have been the best night's sleep of his life, but the Mrs. knew otherwise and figured Sakura had decided to spend the morning in and spare her parents of her normal hustle and bustling about downstairs, clamoring to complete her morning ritual that consisted of tea and peaches.

Neither of the two moved until well passed the lunch hour and lamented on the weariness of their bones as they finally sat up. Feeling rather shameful, Mrs. Haruno waddled over to the shower to begin her day. Her husband decided another fifteen minutes would do his tired bones a great deal of good.

Within the comfort of a robe, Mrs. Haruno exited her room and decided to check up on Sakura, wondering if she had woken up yet. She stuck her head in and found nothing really amiss. The bed seemed hastily made, as though Sakura had just thrown the comforter back into position or had chosen to sleep on top of it. The floor was covered with bits and pieces of this and that and her closet door slightly ajar. Hoping that her beloved daughter had finally decided to tidy her closet at last, Mrs. Haruno tip-toed into the room to see if she was right. The truth resulted in her dismay, seeing that Sakura had done no such thing. However, a single shelf caught her eye. It was completely folded and neat which was flabbergasting enough, but what Mrs. Haruno found most alarming were the contents of said shelf; more specifically the underwear—or rather, lingerie.

The realization came at her with an iron fist, gutting her and leaving her breathless for a moment. Memories of her own adolescence came flooding into her thoughts and Mrs. Haruno tried to deny that she was different.

Her daughter—Sakura Haruno was a woman.

Tears welled in her eyes at the thought. Seventeen seemed a bit young, but Mrs. Haruno had denied the reality long enough already: The moment she turn her back on Sakura at the academy was the day she stopped being her little girl. She belonged to the village now.

With steps hindered by waves of nostalgia, Mrs. Haruno stumbled out of her daughter's room and shuffled downstairs in a daze. Her husband was sitting at the kitchen table, presumably waiting for lunch. She didn't think to look for Sakura, for the need to suddenly vanished. The harsh pitter-patter of rain outside was heard and softer drip-drop came from the soaked newspaper Mr. Haruno was reading. Shaking herself free of self-pity, Mrs. Haruno got to making tea.

"Dear," she began in the midst of searching for the strainer and tea leaves.

"Hrm?" he replied to assure his wife that, not only was he reading, but listening to her as well.

"Do you know if Sakura's been…seeing someone?"

"Someone?" he asked, somewhat alarmed.

"A boy."

"A boy? No…none that I know of."

"Are you sure? She's getting at that age, you know."

"Yeah, well she's hardly given herself the time really. Last boy she was interested was that Uchiha fellow and," there was a customary pause, "she was just gaga over him. But there hasn't been anyone since, I don't think. Almost as if she's been put off the subject for good." Mr. Haruno ended the sentence abruptly, catching himself in though. Maybe she was interested in girls now.

Mrs. Haruno insisted as she sat down at the table to face a damp newspaper. Nursing a cup of tea, she continued, "I find that hard to believe, I mean, I'm sure that she's had a few visitors."

"Other than Naruto? Nope."

"Her teacher visited just last week, though."

Mr. Haruno put down the newspaper slowly and peered over it, offering his best "…That's not funny," look.

"Don't be too put off the idea. Older is not bad. You're older than me."

"Yeah, but we at least went to the same school together at some point."

"That's one way to look at it, but by the time you were interested in girls, I was busy getting my cootie shots."

"But that's not the point, it—…what was the point, again?"

Sighing, Mrs. Haruno took a sip of her drink and immediately regretted it. She took her scalded tongue as somewhat of a warning but spoke anyway.

"I found something in Sakura's room."

A pregnant pause.

"Don't tell me," alarmed by his thoughts, Mr. Haruno leaned in towards his wife and whispered gravely, "is it birth control?"

"Wha—how…—no!"

"Oh!" he leaned back in his chair and placed a hand on his stomach to sooth the ulcer that threatened to tear apart his insides. "Thank God."

"But she might as well be."

"Oh—what the hell is it then?"

"Underwear."

"Underwear?"

"Underwear."

"What the hell—how is that a problem? That's better than her not having any underwear—we'd have to be worried then; our daughter going commando in a profession dominated by men. No. This is good news; underwear." Mr. Haruno continued grumbling, assuring himself that his daughter was not the town—or her team's—mistress.

"Not just any underwear—it was," it was Mrs. Haruno's turn to lean in and whisper gravely, "lingerie."

"You mean that fancy stuff?"

"Yes. The fancy stuff."

Grimacing, Mr. Haruno thought to himself for a moment and scratched his chin in hopes that it would aid him in the process.

"What does that mean?"

"It means she…wants boys coming around more often."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, it's not like I was never a teenage girl or anything."

"Right."

"The point is that- she wouldn't spend so much on anything if she wouldn't want to show it to someone."

"If she wants to show it off, then we have no worries about her taking it off then."

Silence fell between the two, one looking pleasantly smug and the other looking rather appalled. Trying to stay calm, Mrs. Haruno took a deep breath and counted to ten before exhaling.

"What I'm trying to say is…we should have a talk with Sakura."

"But…I thought you already covered that."

"No, not that one."

"Oh…well, good luck with that."

"I'm serious. You'll need to be there too. It's time we okayed the whole boy thing."

"But that really didn't stop her last time and besides, it's not like anyone is interested right now."

"Don't be so dim; Sakura's is not an ugly girl and it's about time we accept that."

For the first time, Mr. Haruno acted serious, "Alright, I suppose."

"Alright? Alright. We'll wait for Sakura to get home then. I'll make a quick run to the market for dinner so we can have a proper family meal as we make our daughter incredibly uncomfortable."

"Ah, sounds great."

And with that, Mrs. Haruno grabbed her coat and headed for the door. As she was putting on her shoes, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Standing up, Mrs. Haruno walked over to the bucket with all the umbrellas and saw Sakura's pale pink umbrella amidst the vast array of darker colors. Something inside her sank, knowing it was unlike Sakura to leave anything of necessity behind. She shook the thought away and grabbed her own umbrella and stepped out the door, focusing her attention on dinner and the meal plan.

Grass was eerily quiet. Every little sound had Sakura turning around, startled and fully alert. Being that the entire landscape was made of grass, even the wind had her jumping. Every time a blade of grass scraped against the bit of skin just above her boots, her heart would sink, afraid of who or what just touched her.

Actual sightings of any actual human were few and far between. It wasn't until late afternoon and halfway across the country did Sakura realize that it would be wise to remove her headband; as if the pink hair and flaming red outfit didn't reveal her enough as an eyesore.

The sky didn't clear until evening which was when Sakura decided to stop and eat. She hadn't bothered to stop for lunch since, shortly after bolting across the border, she walked practically the entire way. She knew that her situation was cause for a good deal of running, but there was no will in it. She tried, but found no motivation in doing so. She wondered, for a moment, if she really did want to go find Sasuke herself. It wasn't too long ago that she admitted to herself that she didn't have the sort of power to bring him back and it was quite clear he didn't want her around. However, all those things did not stop her from packing her things and hopping out her window.

Perhaps there was no motivation to run because there really was no reason to. Running would imply fear and fear would imply guilt and that guilt would imply what she had done was wrong. No, Sakura saw nothing wrong with anything and saw it perfectly fit to walk as fast as she liked and sit and eat whenever as well.

Unfortunately, a post midnight raid of her kitchen would not have blown over too well in her house; day or night, Sakura could never navigate through the kitchen without making a ruckus and her parents would have woken up believing it to be time for breakfast if she so much as tried. So, Sakura's backpack was filled with the essential staples of a teenager and a ninja: ramen, potato chips, and food pills. Ramen was out of the question; despite the copious amount of water afoot, Sakura had not seen it fit to bring along some sort of device that would aid her in heating it. Food pills were best kept for later and so she settled on opening one of the many bags of chips. The bag opened with a crinkly puff and filled her nostrils with the scent of powdered barbeque sauce; not her favorite flavor, but beggars can't be choosers. To her dismay, it turned out that a majority of the bag was air. Sighing, Sakura munching on the handful of fried carbohydrates fate had bestowed upon her.

She wondered, then, if anyone had figured it out; she wondered if anyone knew she had gone. And then, just for the familiar comfort of home, Sakura thought about what she would normally think about at that moment in time: She wondered what her mother had planned for dinner.

"I see three; where's Sakura?"

"She's not with you?"

"No, Naruto, she's obviously not with me."

"Oh,"

"We don't know where she is, Hokage-Sama."

"I figured that out, thank you Sai."

"My pleasure, Hokage-Sama."

Grimacing slightly, Tsunade set her eyes on Kakashi, offering a look that demanded an answer.

"So, you don't know where your student is."

"Ah, quite frankly, we thought she was with you doing paperwork or whatever it is you do. Or don't do for that matter."

"Don't get cheeky with me."

"I wasn't."

"Well, at least answer my question."

"As I was saying, we figured she was either with you because she normally works here on Thursdays, or she decided to play hooky."

"That doesn't sound like Sakura."

"To be honest, I'd have a hard time believing her to be my student if she did not do that once in a while."

"Mm, well, I suppose a day off will do her some good. As for the rest of you who chose to get out of bed today, get out of my sight and do something good for the village. Help an old lady or offer your umbrella to some poor soul who forgot theirs. You know, the general stuff."

"But that's genin work!"

"And you are a genin, Naruto."

"Besides, as much as we need the money, it's not safe to send you out into a storm without a medic. So, stay in the village and out of trouble."

And the three boys walked out of the Hokage's office, Naruto audibly sulking as he went. Sighing, Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose to relieve the pressure that had built up there. Sakura had the right idea and Tsunade wished, for a moment, she had the gall to do the same. She then wondered where Sakura had decided to spend on her impromptu day off.

With dinner being not as satisfying as she'd have liked it to have been, Sakura set out in search of some sort of shelter before nightfall; she was wary of the grass in the day and would probably lose her mind at night if she were to continue her journey.

Night fell quickly, giving her just enough time to set up camp in a nook within a rock formation that was not so conveniently located next to a bubbling brook. It made the night extra frigid, moistening the air and freezing Sakura's ears and cheeks. The upside, however, was the pleasant sound it creating, lulling Sakura into a blissful dream state.

Sakura was never one to dream erratically or suffer from nightmares. Even as a child, she was generally free of them. Dreams, for her, were never more than unsettling and she had always gotten through them without the aid of her mother, father, or their bed. However, on that particular night out in the middle of a foreign country during a chilly night spent on frozen ground, Sakura had a dream that went just a little beyond unsettling.

When she woke up, however, she couldn't really mull over it and tell herself it was all a dream. She had woken up in the middle of the night and it was pouring rain and Sakura lay in her little nook half-traumatized, shivering, and borderline drenched. Dazedly, she crawled out of the hole and looked around to see nothing. Sakura fumbled her way out of her uselessly soaked sleeping bag and packed up hurriedly before running off in no particular direction, hoping to find some sort of light or beacon to guide her into the warm hands of a stranger who happened to be a Good Samaritan.

But all she could think about was the rush of cool water against her dream-heated skin and how much this reality felt like her nightmare. Each leap forward made her heart skip beats and her breath quicken as though she was actually drowning.

Kakashi stood in front of Ichiraku, waiting for Naruto and Sai to finish their meals. The rain had let up just long enough for Konoha to enjoy the last glimmers of sunshine before dark. But the dark gray clouds looming in the distance seemed to suggest otherwise. Kakashi ran his thumb over the handle of his still soaked umbrella and called after Naruto and Sai, insisting that they hurry up.

A few moments passed and Sai emerged , Naruto begrudgingly following.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"Hm, Naruto?"

"Sakura seems to have the right idea; I think we should all go home for the day."

"We'll do that Naruto, but first, we have to make a short stop somewhere."

"Eh? Couldn't you do that without me—or Sai?"

"Well, I was hoping you would be the one to talk instead of me."

"Why not Sai?"

"I'm afraid he doesn't know these people too well…and, quite frankly, neither do I."

Sai raised his head and looked up at Kakashi, making his interest obvious.

"I would not mind speaking on behalf of this team; I believe this is a good opportunity to hone my social skills by making a good impression on these people. Who, may I ask, are the targets?"

Kakashi looked down at Sai and contemplated the correct way to respond, not sure if he had the ability to be frank enough with Sai to get his originally intended point across.

"Mr. and Mrs. Haruno," he finally answered.

"He—what? You mean Sakura's parents?" Naruto sounded genuinely perplexed.

"No, her brother and his wife."

"Sakura has a brother?"

"I've been rather curious about Sakura for a while now." Kakashi tried not to sound worried.

"And you're going to ask her parents if they've noticed anything?" Sai tried not to sound like he knew already.

"Wait…what's wrong with Sakura?" Naruto did nothing to hide his confusion.

"Naruto, I—I need you to go get Yamato."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in rising suspicion.

"Kakashi-sen—"

"Just go, Naruto."

Thankfully enough, Naruto didn't seem to want to put up and argument and ran off like the dutiful errand boy he was never meant to be,

"Sai, I think it can go without being said."

"I think it was early this morning."

"I do as well; I just don't understand why no one noticed."

"She might have snuck through, maybe jumped over the eastern wall—it's never really been that secure."

"No, she wouldn't do something like that. And besides, nothing is more conspicuous than someone trying to go unnoticed. My guess is she went out the front door—no one would have thought anything of it."

"But her parents—surely they must have heard something."

"I think she used a window that time."

Silence fell between the two as they began the short trek to Sakura's street. The rain clouds caught up to them and the soft pitter-patter of a fresh drizzle accompanied their heavy steps and grew to be a steady drumbeat that led the two to the Haruno's walkway.

"Sai."

"Yes?"

"Don't say anything."

Sai complied without another word.

Sakura did not know how long she had been running, but her legs told her it had been hours. However, Sakura figured that with her luck, it had probably been only a half hour. But she fought the aches and pains of her tiring body, hoping to keep the impending fever at bay just long enough to find some sort of dry shelter with a crackling fire waiting for her to warm up next to. The thought alone had her running faster.

Every few seconds, her fever would seem to spike a few degrees, forcing rivulets of sweat down her soaked skin, only to be chilled instantly by the howling and freezing rain that came at her skin like daggers so swift and fine that they did nothing but prick Sakura's skin.

In the distance, Sakura saw a flickering light. It seemed to hover in the sky as though it was a part of it. But heaving forward as she was, Sakura could see the distinct orange glow that gave her hope; it was a fire.

Sakura ran towards it, hoping she had not been running blindly back to Konoha, or worse.

The rain had picked up again and came down like bullets, deafening Kakashi's ears. He knocked on the door in front of him, hoping there was someone inside who could hear it.

A moment passed, followed by another. Kakashi resisted the urge to turn around and call it a day and was just about to give in when the door finally opened to reveal Mrs. Haruno.

"Good evening, Mrs. Haruno."

"Kakashi-san…what brings you here?"

"Well, I was hoping that I could speak with Sakura for a moment."

Mrs. Haruno offered a knowing smile and looked back over her shoulder at her husband who stood looming in the hallway.

"I'm afraid Sakura is not here at the moment; we thought she was with you—the team, that is."

"Well, Sakura didn't show up today, Mrs. Haruno. I was just checking to see if she was still ill or anything."

"No, no, she seemed perfectly fine last night. Went to bed a little early, but I can see why she needed to. She's been pretty exhausted lately, especially after that last mission."

"Do you know when she got up this morning, Mrs. Haruno?"

"Uhm…no, actually. Normally, she is really quite loud in the morning and my husband and I wake up shortly after she does, but we didn't hear her at all this morning."

Mrs. Haruno's voice slowly faded and she looked up at Kakashi in silence. Unnerved, she averted her gaze to look at Sai behind him and began to worry.

"I-Is everything alright, Kakashi-san?"

"Do you mind if we come in, Mrs. Haruno?"

Sakura lamented, for a moment, at the idea of scaling a cliff in the middle of what very well could have been a typhoon but banished the thought as soon as the wind picked up again. With renewed conviction, Sakura began climbing the slippery slope, focusing her thoughts on the fire waiting for her at the top.

Her cloak pulled on her neck, weighing her down and interrupting her already uneven breathing. She pulled at the cowl, hoping it would not bother her with that little adjustment. It was at that moment when her heart sank at the familiarity of the situation.

"Did you check Sakura's room?"

"No, Kakashi-san. As a mother, I've learned the hard way that, no matter the circumstance, entering my daughter's bedroom is not even an option. It's never worth it—Sakura always notices something when she gets back. Even if it's just me doing her laundry."

"Well, I suppose you should check to see if she has a load of laundry waiting for you."

Her cloak and never been so heavy before.

But, this time, the light wasn't moving; it was waiting for her.

"Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary—or, at least, nothing from what I can tell."

"Where does she normally put her work stuff?"

"At the foot of her bed—"

The last pull was the worst, but she made it. Sakura collapsed at the mouth of the cave, just beyond the warmth of the fire. She crawled, or rather dragged her body closer to the glowing flame until she could feel its heat flooding across her face. She closed her eyes, letting sleep win over her.

But the glow of the fire disappeared behind her eyes and her face cooled, as though a shadow, heavier than her cloak, was looming over her.

"Where…Where has Sakura gone, Kakashi-san?"

"We…We don't know, Mrs. Haruno."

"Wha—…"

"But, as of this moment, she is a missing nin."

Sakura opened her eyes and looked up to see the source of all her weighted memories.

"Sakura…"

Those memories came flooding at her, bombarding her brain with pain and happiness—thoughts of the past and possible future stinging her eyes.

"…you're early."

Sakura closed her eyes and dreamt of flowers.