A/N: FINALLY, the newest chapter is out! I'm sorry it took me so long, I've been to distracted with the boring bliss of Summertime. So enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, sadly.

"Seriously? Naruto that means all of Team 7 is rogue!" She gasped. He looked to the side with a confused look and back at her.
"Why did you go rogue?" He asked while picking at the grass near his feet. She pondered that question for a moment, deciding whether or not she should tell him or not about how she felt.
Nope, not yet.
"I guess it was just a feeling I had." She said eyes closed and scratching the back of her head.
"Huh," he said without making eye contact. "Do you have any idea of what you're going to do now?"
She thought about that long and hard, it hadn't even crossed her mind, she just wanted to find him.
"No, but Naruto?" she asked while placing her hand on his knee. "Can I tell you something?" he seemed surprised by the physical contact and nodded.
"I just, wanted to apologize… for everything. All this time I've known you, I've been nothing but a frigid bitch to you." It almost looked like she was going to cry, but she just took in a deep breath and smiled at him. "I feel horrible about it; you're such a good guy Naruto. I'm so glad to have you as a friend."

Naruto was completely shocked. Was this really Sakura? It couldn't be, it just wasn't in her to apologize…

"Its fine Sakura, don't worry about it." He said while getting up. She watched him from the ground and frowned slightly.
"Seriously Naruto, I'm very sorry." He stretched out a hand to her and she grabbed it. He lifted her up and she smiled.
"I told you not to worry about it." He said while smiling ever so slightly. Sakura still felt guilty but dropped the subject for fear of annoying him. A few quiet moments passed by in an awkward silence.

"Hey, where's his body?" Naruto suddenly realized, secretly panicking.
"Don't worry, Tsunade sent three ANBU to come get it, and me…" She shuddered at the thought of what she saw. Although she couldn't quite remember it that well.
"Y-You saw his body?" Naruto asked with wide eyes of horror.
"Well, yeah but I can't really remember anymore, Tsunade erased my memory." He sighed inwardly, totally relieved.
"Don't worry Naruto, we'll catch the bastard that killed him. I promise." She gave him a smile of reassurance and he just gulped.
Kill?
"Do you mind if I ask you what happened?" she inquired.
"Well, actually, I, uh, can't remember what happened. I just remember waking up miles from here." He lied quickly. She frowned and looked up at him.

"Do you mind if I stay with you?" she asked. She had surprised him again but he agreed quickly. He was kind of happy she wanted to stay with him. Maybe this new Sakura was a good thing.



They walked through the woods for quite some time, the company of Sakura had really brightened Naruto's mood. He was careful though to not get to close to her, they were rogue now and anything could happen, he had to be prepared for the worst.

Night was falling now and the two had decided to make camp in the infinite abyss of the woods they were in. Sakura quickly built a fire and pulled out some food she had packed, it was a small meal but it satisfied the teens as they laid back and watched the stars.

How romantic… Sakura thought. She smiled and looked over at Naruto who gave her yet another confused look.

"What is it Sakura?" he asked.
"Oh, it's nothing Naruto. It's just for once in a long time I feel truly and genuinely happy. I guess it's just catching me off guard." She said as she rolled over onto her side, letting the tongues of the fire lick towards her face. The warmth just added to her positive mood.
"That's good Sakura; I'm feeling a little better myself." He gave her a reassuring smile and they rolled over onto their backsides again and continued to watch the constellations.

Inner Sakura was just begging to get out, to scream into the woods of her feelings for Naruto. And Sakura wanted to, but she got the feeling that Naruto had just about enough of her. She couldn't blame him, her entire existence she'd been mean to him, criticizing and abusive. She began to throw herself into another self-pity party. Her countenance must have given it away for Naruto noticed.

"Now what's wrong Sakura? Two seconds ago you looked as if you were going to jump for the moon. Now you look like you want to crawl under a rock…"

Knock it off Sakura! You're making a fool of yourself in front on Naruto! Just tell him! Inner Sakura screamed.

"Naruto, I…" She began but a cracked twig and sudden rustling stole the show. She gasped but Naruto's hand quickly slapped itself across her mouth, he put his index finger to his mouth to indicate to her to be quiet as he jumped up. She stood up herself and watched as Naruto began walking towards the noise.

He motioned for her to put out the fire and she complied without a second thought. As the world around her grew darker she heard a rustle on the ground before her. Startled, she jumped up into the closest tree but found herself snatched in mid-air with a rough, cold, hand over her mouth. She attempted to scream but it was useless the kidnapper had a tight grip on her and wasn't letting up. Panicked green orbs searched furiously around as if the trees could tell her what to do, but nothing came. Within the depths of the woods it was pitch black and the only light visible was the small embers that remained of their fire.

The rustling had stopped and Naruto hadn't made a noise, now she was really panicking. She fought furiously against the buff being behind her but all she got in return was a rough blow to the head. Now her world was even darker than it was before. She attempted to keep her eyes open but the weird patterns she saw behind her eyelids won, and she slowly crept into unconsciousness.

"Sakura! Psst, Sakura! Are you awake?" A familiar blond boy's voice whispered. She opened her eyes and her world spun wildly as her head pounded. After a few forced blinks her surroundings became clear. There was Naruto leaning up against a stone wall, and there she was, sprawled out on the cold concrete floor.
"N-Naruto, where are we?" She said as she struggled to get up.
"I don't know Sakura, I don't know." He looked over at her with dried blood running out of the corner of his lip and down his chin. He sported many bruises and looked as if he'd gone to Hell and back.
"Dear God Naruto, what happened to you?" she sprang up and sprinted to his side within seconds, but the world was still hazy and discolored. She wavered slowly and applied a green chakra to the back of her head. Immediately relief filled her body and she sighed.

"Let me heal you." She said with a smile. He obliged and leaned his head back on the wall, allowing her full access to his body.

She began applying her medical chakra to his shoulder first; it looked as if it were dislocated. And without warning she lodged it back into place. He gasped in pain but relaxed immediately after. The more she examined the damage, the more she realized how beat up he was. She ran her hand up and down his arms slowly and then across his forehead; all the while giving him loving smiles.

When she concluded that most of the damage was taken care of he grabbed his chest in pain. He leaned forward and coughed harshly.

"Naruto?" she said a little more concerned than she should have.
"My chest…" he whispered. Sakura gulped, she didn't know if she could handle his manliness again. She sighed and unbuttoned his vest and slid his shirt over his head, and there they were. Rippling abs, amazing Pecs, strong arms… the whole package. This sucked, she decided. She gulped down her anxiety and began to examine the deep gash he had right in the middle of his chest. She pulled out her medical supplies kit and began to dab it with an antibacterial ointment and then wrapped it up. The sigh of relief he had when she backed away made her feel good. She loved being a medical ninja.

"So, what happened back there anyways?" She asked as she sat down on the wall adjacent to his. Seeing as this was a very small holding cell they were quite close to each other no matter where they were in the room.
"Well obviously we were attacked. When I went to examine where the sound had come from I was instantly attacked by someone by whom I believe to work for Orichimaru. I noticed a huge purple bow, so naturally I think I'm right…" As he continued on with his analysis Sakura yet again couldn't stop admiring him. The way he spoke now, with such intellect and confidence, it was so… sexy. She leaned on her hand and continued to listen dreamily.
"Hopefully they don't have the information on our being rogue." He whispered. She nodded in agreement and bit her forefinger lightly.
"I wonder if they'll use us for ransom or something like human testing…" She shuddered at that thought; she had once read a case study on a different village about how some ninja were using townspeople for disturbing tests… Sakura shook the thought and continued listening.

"I think the only reason Orichimaru would want us is for the Kyuubi. Either that or like you said, give us to ninja who want to torture us…" Then the thought hit them as hard as a boulder.
Sasuke…

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