Phew! It's been a while since I updated! I'm happy you've been looking at this, or glancing at it (doesn't matter). I'm just grateful. So as a treat for you all, a new chapter!

-.-.-

Chapter 4: When You Meet

-.-.-

"Hey have you heard what's been going around lately?" the curious voice of Deidara asked as he glanced at his puppet master partner. They were both standing on top of a roof in a loud and bustling town.

"There are many rumors going around. Elaborate Deidara." The red haired ageless man replied as his partner huffed at his remark.

"The one about that stone hm!" Sasori nodded, his eyes closed in thought.

"Yes I have heard of that one. What of it?"

"I have a gut feeling that Pain's gonna send someone after it. Wanting to get every source of power and all. I hear the stone has the power to be able to rule over the shinobi world." Sasori met his partner's gaze before looking back down on the town and its citizens.

"That's intriguing." Deidara raised an eyebrow at him before shaking his head.

Then the blonde haired man suddenly froze, widening his eyes for a moment. Sasori glanced over to him, sensing the same thing.

"Damn it, why now Pain!?" Deidara muttered under his breath as he and his partner leaped off of the roof. They went towards the forest, moving deep inside it.

The two came to a stop in a quiet clearing in the middle of the forest. They both sat back to back on the soft grass, their cloaks sprawled around them. With closed eyes, their minds were taken elsewhere.

-.-.-

"Oi! What's the deal for calling us?" Deidara demanded as the other Akatsuki members stood on top of a large rock. Their location seemed to be up high.

"I need a few of you to do something important." the orange haired man spoke in a deep voice.

"We always do something important for you. What's the difference now?" Hidan snapped in an irritated tone.

"Just. Listen." Pain bit out, immediately quieting the antsy immortal member. "I need the Kyuubi. Bring him to me."

"...for what reason Pain?" Konan quietly inquired as a breeze brushed past their shadowed figures.

"I want the entire world to know my pain. To do that, I need the Kyuubi." There was a long period of silence before they all nodded silently.

"Who will go in search of him?" Zetsu whispered, breaking the silence.

"I will go." All heads turned to the hissed voice that spoke.

"Orochimaru, you?" Itachi quietly said, his shadowed form flickering.

"If that's the case, I'll go too!" Miu's voice called out next to Orochimaru's figure.

"No Miu, I need you to do something else." Orochimaru followed, not missing a beat.

"What?! But-!"

"He's right Miu. I also need you to do something for me." Pain interrupted, stopping Miu from talking.

"A-alright then." Miu softly replied, her figure slumping a bit.

"Who else will search?" A hand silently raised up, belonging to Itachi.

"I will."

"Then I go too." Kisame added on, his voice amused.

"Very well. Three is good enough. Do what you see fit to find the Kyuubi." Pain directed before he made a seal, dispelling the jutsu.

-.-.-

"Orochimaru, why do you want to go? You normally don't do things like this." Miu commented as they stood up from the two stones they sat on. The roar of the waterfall filled her ears as she and her sensei dashed through the water, appearing on the other side in a cave.

"I'd like to see someone." Her sensei simply replied, making her narrow her eyes suspiciously.

"It's him isn't it?" She asked in a bitter tone. The one who helped destroy her plans, causing her to fail.

"It isn't your fault that your plan to destroy Konoha didn't work. You perfected your jutsu with the help of that pink haired kunoichi. I just wanted you to focus on that." Orochimaru quietly said to his student as he turned towards her, his yellow eyes gazing into her own.

"...but I failed you. I don't ever want to fail you sensei," Miu quietly uttered, casting her eyes downward. A hand softly patted her head, causing her to glance up.

"You did not fail me. I am proud of you Miu."

The purple haired girl widened her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face. Orochimaru gave her a nod before turning, beckoning for her to come.

"The task I need you to do, is look for the Stone of Light."

"Stone of Light? What's that?"

"It's a very powerful object that has an immense amount of power. It was created by the village and enhances your power to even be able to rule the shinobi world. Pain asked me to send on this mission to search for the stone.

"Also, he wants you to search for a certain Cloud traitor, imprisoned in the cells of his own village. Pain says it is imperative that you release him and persuade him to talk with him."

"Hmm. What's his name?"

"Takashi."

Miu thought about the name for a moment before shaking her head. Nope, never heard of the name.

"Alright," Within a few minutes, she had her things packed and was pulling on a black cloak. Summoning chakra to the bottoms of her feet, she exploded off of the ground and burst through the waterfall. Droplets of water fell around her as she bounced from branch to branch, headed towards the Country of Lightning.

Orochimaru smirked as he pulled on his red clouded cloak, slipping the hood on. He knew that Miu knew of his plans; to use her as his body replacement. However, there was still another person that was suitable who was alive and out there with the person they were looking for.

"Time to meet my old student."

-.-.-

"Why did you volunteer?" Kisame inquired as they quietly strolled through the forest.

"I just thought I would see someone." Itachi smoothly replied, glancing over to his partner.

"Let me guess..." Itachi frowned at Kisame's teasing. He hated it when the answer was right in front of him and he wouldn't just go ahead and say it.

"It's Sasuke isn't it?"

"Yes...However there's one more person I'd like to see. Try and guess who that would be Kisame. Maybe it will amuse you till we reach our destination."

"Which is?"

"Konoha."

-.-.-

Why was she doing this? Where would she go if she didn't? She had the power she wanted, she could run away, and yet she followed his orders like a little puppy.

She knew why. She was alone. No family, no friends. Not unlike Sakura and her companions. Even when she was on the verge of killing her friends, they still didn't give in. Is that what a friendship is?

She had been taken up by Orochimaru at a young age. Her parents had been shinobi and had died during a mission, citizens of the Sound village. She thought she would finally have a good life under Orochimaru, when she was cast aside when he took in that damned Sasuke.

And what did he do after his precious student ran away? He picked Miu up like a soaked puppy thrown off the side of the road. He took pity on her. That's what she believed she saw in those eyes of his when he came back to Sound to look for her.

So again, why was she doing this?

"Is it because I don't want him to throw me aside again?" Miu muttered to herself as she leapt off of a branch.

"Ergh, just get your thoughts together Miu. When you do, everything will come clear."

It's just that right there, a seed of doubt began to grow inside her.

-.-.-

"Tch, it's just a double mission, what could be taking them so long?" Tsunade said to herself as she halted the movements of her paintbrush. She was in the middle of finishing her paperwork when the thought of Team 7 suddenly appeared in her mind.

The squawk of a messenger bird caught her attention, making her glance out the window to see the bird head towards the messenger tower. Tsunade closed her eyes for a second before heading back to her paperwork. It wasn't even minutes when her door suddenly burst open and Shizune hurried in.

"Tsunade-sama. A message for you from the Raikage."

The Hokage peered up from her work, a bit surprised to receive a message from the leader of the Country of Lightning himself. He normally never writes. Tsunade set down her paintbrush and pushed her scroll to the side, allowing Shizune to hand her the scroll.

She unrolled it and placed it on the table, reading it slowly with a serious gaze. Soon, a scowl was present on her face, a troubled look haunting her eyes. Shizune stood beside her, unbeknownst to the contents of the message.

"Shizune," the Hokage quietly said as she crumpled a part of the scroll she was gripping.

"Yes?" Her apprentice whispered, ready for the explosion that always happens.

"Get Gai and his team in this room, now." Tsunade said in a deadly serious voice, a shadow casting over her face. Shizune blinked at her control in anger and nodded, soon exiting the room.

The Hokage waited til Shizune's footsteps were gone to clench the paper that was in her hand even tighter, upset about what was currently happening.

Team 7 was only sent to retrieve the captured Cloud member. Now they're on their way to Island Turtle with THE Stone of Light? They're exposed to the Akatsuki for goodness sake! And Naruto's with them, something they want! Of course he can take care of himself but still-there are some buttons that can be pushed to set him off the edge.

Tsunade sighed in exasperation as she banged her fist against the table angrily. Luckily it didn't shatter to pieces. It wasn't long before Team Gai stepped into the room, their expressions grim. Apparently they were never called so hurriedly.

"You called us, Hokage-sama?" Gai greeted as he placed his hands to his sides, standing tall.

"Yes, I called you because you are a fast paced team. Team Kakashi is in trouble. Someone is in hot pursuit of an object they hold. How they obtained this object I don't know but I need you to go after them. They may not need the help, but I'd like you there to make sure they get back. They've taken too long on the missions I've sent them on."

"Where exactly are we headed Tsunade-sama?" Neji inquired as Tsunade met all of their gazes.

"Head to Island Turtle. First you need to go to the Cloud Village."

"Right!" Team Gai all said in unison, standing straight before they made their way out.

"I wonder what this object is?" Tenten asked curiously as they walked through the streets of Konoha.

"It must be incredibly important if someone is chasing after them." Lee replied when Gai turned to face them.

"Alriiiiight! Let us meet in an hour in front of the gate and go to our youthful friends!" He said energetically, pumping a fist into the air. Lee followed his lead while Neji and Tenten sighed.

"Riiiight," Neji and Tenten said as they leaned against each other in exhaustion that was to come.

-.-.-

"Ahhh finally!" Chihiro sighed as she jumped down from the boat, stretching her arms and legs with a grin.

Haru landed next to her and froze when a huge something slammed into the ground in front of him. Everyone was off the boat by then, all tensed up aa the smoked cleared. Bee simply stepped forward and raised a hand to pat...the paw of a huge panda.

"Whoa! It's a huge panda!" Naruto called out in surprise, pointing at it.

"Naruto my man, this 'panda' does not like being called a 'panda'. He's got a name." Bee told him, meeting the ninja's gaze.

"Okay then, what's your name?" the blonde asked as he approached the panda cautiously. All he received was a soft growl.

"Mango," Bee replied for him. Naruto blinked at the panda's curious eyes that gazed down at him before bursting out laughing.

"Bwahaha, Mango? Why is his name Ma-" Two paws came out of nowhere and lifted the teen off of the ground, throwing him into the air like a football. Naruto disappeared in the depths of the forest, his yell of 'ehhhhh!?' echoing through the forest.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out in concern before breaking out into a chuckle.

"C'mon, we'll catch up with him later." Kakashi said as he passed Sakura, giving her a pat on the shoulder. Bee nodded as the silver haired Jounin came next to him.

Soon the whole gang was walking towards the center of the forest, Chihiro leading the way with the stone inside the red ball of a barrier.

The forest was roaring with life, many large varieties of animals stomping through. Sakura even spotted some bears arm wrestling! The place was incredible. And for the ultimate defense, spikes lined up on the border of the island.

Sasuke smirked when he caught Naruto lying on the ground with a growling brown bear glaring down at his unconscious face. A drop of drool landed on Naruto's face, causing him to jolt awake. The blonde shrieked at his sticky face, his hands moving rapidly as he tried to wipe it off.

"Let's go, Naruto." Kakashi beckoned as the group passed him.

"Ugh, right." the blonde groaned as he wiped the smelly drool on the grass. He stood up and joined Sakura and Sasuke who chuckled at his appearance.

Bee gave them a tour of the whole place, warning them to be kind to the animals when he stopped at a waterfall with a little patch of grass in the middle. He jumped through the waterfall, with everyone following suit, appearing on the other side in a huge chamber. There were ancient sculptures all colored in dark blue. Chihiro and Bee told everyone that they would be sealing the stone away here in a secret room, giving everyone a chance to explore.

"Oi Sasuke, let's go take a look at the animals!" Naruto cheerfully suggested as the three best friends made their way out of the waterfall.

"No," Sasuke coldly replied, giving him a glare as he moved closer to Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi smiled softly at this but shoved her boyfriend over to her best friend.

"It's fine. You two have your bro time. It's been a while since you hung out together." She suggested as she gave them a little shove forward.

"Bro time?" the two best friends said simultaneously in a monotone voice.

"Exactly. Go hang with the animals! They seem fun to hang out with." Naruto exchanged glances with Sasuke, curiously raising an eyebrow.

"What about you?" Sasuke asked as he nodded in her direction. Sakura grinned, waving it off.

"Don't worry, I'll just take a walk around and meet up with you somewhere around the forest. That sound good?" The Uchiha stared at her for a moment before shrugging, turning with Naruto chatting next to him.

As Sakura watched them walk away, she realized she was standing on top of the patch of grass in front of the waterfall. She faced it and felt a strange sensation run through her body, reaching the spot of her curse mark. Kind of like a quick rush. She decided to sit down and shut her eyes for a moment, hearing the roar of the falls in her ears.

It was calming-for a moment. She felt her curse mark throb for the first time in two years. Her eyes snapped open at the feeling, surprised. Emerald eyes wide with apprehension, she watched the waterfall closely, sensing something behind it. It wasn't Kakashi or anyone else. Sakura spotted a shadow behind the water and sprung to her feet, poised and ready.

What she didn't expect was the figure of herself come out of the water. Eyes icy blue and pink hair streaked black, anti-Sakura smirked as she walked out from the waterfall. Stopping right in front of Sakura.

"Hello Sakura," She whispered with a grin.

-.-.-

Heh, not so much action huh?

Um yeah, I wanted to have Sakura meet her "other" side and I thought that since Team Kakashi was going to Turtle Island, I thought it would be a perfect place to do it.

Also, in this story, Naruto doesn't know about Island Turtle. And the reason he knows Bee is also kind of just random. I guess I didn't have to make it seem like he knew him. Oh well. What's done is done I guess.

I'm sooo glad that you all have been checking out this sequel! It seemed as though no one was interested so I posted that message on the first one. For some reason, that story got like 4,000 hits and I didn't even update. It surprised me a lot.

I hope you guys have a Happy New Year!