.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
The Next Day
.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
Sasuke tiredly opened his eyes.
Just like the previous day, Naruto and Sakura were asleep on either side of him.
He smiled sleepily to himself; it was nice having his friends around him, just like the older days during missions.
Carefully, he stood up, and, unlike the other day, Sakura didn't jump up to kill him.
Peaking out of the cave entrance, the Uchiha admired the fog for a moment before turning on Sharingan.
He scanned the area quickly, looking for any signs of Konoha ninja.
'Shit…' he thought to himself.
There was a small group of them camping out about a mile away… not good…
Sasuke looked back at his former teammates, sleeping peacefully on the blankets.
He could easily escape now.
But…
He turned back quickly, walking to the backpacks to start putting stuff away.
"Nya…? Sasuke…" he heard someone mumbled from behind him.
He looked around to find Naruto sitting up, half asleep and rubbing his eyes.
"Naruto, we have to go. I need to get out of here; the ANBU are going to be here soon," he explained rapidly, finishing one pack and moving to the other.
"But…?"
"What are you talking about??" Sakura exclaimed, shooting up immediately.
"I have to go!! I've got to go kill Itachi!! So come on, are we going or what??" Sasuke asked irritated, picking up one of the bags.
Sakura stared at him for a moment, not sure what to think.
So he was asking them for help…?
Minutes passed, and they remained generally motionless.
"What're you waiting for, Naruto? Get up!" Sakura exclaimed, starting to fold up the blankets.
"O… k…" he muttered, getting up and helping them.
The medic took out a paper and started writing something down, but he didn't take the time to think about it.
Within a few moments, they were ready to go.
.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
An Hour Later
.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
The group of ANBU ninja searched the cave.
One of them approached the leader, saluting.
"Sir, we've only found a pile of burnt up wood and this folded up paper. We haven't opened it yet; thought it would be more appropriate for you to do so…" he explained, handing the man the letter.
He opened it, and read out loud.
"Dear Leader, the Uchiha, Naruto, and I have decided it was best to go on a little mission before returning to Konoha. Don't worry, we'll be ok; an agreement has been made with Sasuke, and he will return to Konoha as soon as Itachi is killed. We have agreed on one month. Please don't come looking for us until then. Deal with Orochimaru, and we'll deal with the Akatsuki. Thanks, Sakura. P.S.: come up with something for the Hokage."
The leader paused before slowly hitting his forehead.
"Those idiots…" he said, sighing at the end, "I guess there's nothing we can do about it now…"
The other ninja just shrugged, unaffected by the letter.
"So… what 'cha gonna say to the Hokage?" he asked after a few minutes.
"Dunno. I'll come up with something. In the meantime, let's get going."
.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
An Hour Later in a Nearby Town
.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
Sasuke felt something soft underneath of him.
Slowly, he opened his eyes to find Sakura sitting next to him on a bed, watching T.V.
He looked around, and identified his surroundings to be a hotel room, and Naruto had just exited the restroom.
"Hmm…" Sasuke mumbled quietly, attracting the attention of both shinobi.
"Hey, you awake?" Naruto asked quietly, walking over to the bed and standing next to the medic.
Sasuke slowly nodded.
"Good, then I can head out to get some new clothes…?" Sakura asked them, quickly standing up.
The Uchiha watched Naruto nod, and after a few minutes, the girl was gone.
"Where's she going…?" Sasuke asked, his voice muffled by the pillow.
His former teammate sat down in Sakura's place, and stated, "Gonna get us some new clothes. Yours are all cut up, and well, we've got to blend in a little more…"
"Hm…"
They sat without talking; the only sound in the room was the T.V.
Naruto laughed once in a while, but slowly, the Uchiha fell asleep again.
It's not his fault his bed at Orochimaru's wasn't as amazingly soft as this one…
.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
In the Evening
.;.;.;.;.;.;.;.
Sasuke was shaken awake by a hand; he immediately hid his face in the pillow, saying, "Oi…"
"Get up, you've gotta try on your new clothes!!" he heard someone exclaim in an overjoyed voice.
"Later…" he mumbled again, trying to turn away.
"Psh, Naruto, just leave him alone. He can try them on later," another voice responded as well, causing the blond to quiet for a moment before continuing.
"But but but! They look so cool!!"
Sasuke sighed, having energy for neither responding nor getting up.
Finally, after about ten minutes, he looked up to find Naruto in… some very strange clothing!
"Baka…" he mumbled slowly, sitting up as he did, "What happen to you?"
"Whaaaaaat? I really like them!" the boy responded as he danced around the room in his new clothes.
Naruto was wearing red shorts that went up to his knees, with black legwarmers continuing down from there.
He had on a white shirt and over it a jacket that was an even darker shade of red.
It buckled at the collar and a white stripe went down his arm.
And… it looked kinda good.
"Come on now, it's your turn," Sakura said mockingly, sitting down next to him on the bed.
"Nya… Too lazy…"
She sighed.
"Well, I'll be trying on my clothes, so when I'm done, I'll be expecting you to be up and ready, got that?"
He just waved her away and fell asleep again.
After what seemed like just a few minutes, Sasuke felt someone tapping his head, surprising him awake.
He looked up to find Sakura in her… aha, very nice clothes…
Behind her, Naruto was staring at her for a bit too long for comfort.
She had on a short red skirt with black legwarmers from her knees down.
Her no-sleeve shirt revealed her entire stomach and the collar was popped up to hug her neck; she wore warmers on her arms from her elbows to her hands.
After a few moments of silence and the two boys staring, she couldn't help but cross her arms and exclaim, "Oooook, you guys are creeping me out here!"
Both of them immediately snapped out of it and said together, "They look good."
"…Ok then… Sasuke, your turn…" she mumbled as she headed for the closet.
Sakura pulled out plain black pants and a matching shirt, with a white overcoat to go along.
"This should make you moderately happy, huh?"
The Uchiha sighed and, though he was still sore, stood up.
However, when he started walking towards her, he realized how much better he felt.
'Wow… she really helped out…' he thought vaguely as he took the clothes from her.
Sasuke passed her to enter the bathroom, but paused.
He started at her back as she exited the room to the balcony.
A small blush appeared, but Naruto was definitely not paying attention, still preoccupied with his new outfit.
'How… strange… She's changed more than I first thought, huh…'
Who knows what will come next.
