Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi.

"CURSE YOU, UZUMAKI MITO!"

The sword was aimed at Sakura at point-blank but the Fifth Hokage's disciple managed to dodge the blade at a hair's breadth from her face by somersaulting backwards to the other side of the cavern. Both shifted to their previous fighting stances with their sharp weapons pointing to the other.

"If I'm not wrong, that name he mentioned was the wife of the First Hokage. But why did he think I was her? Is there anything to do with Mito-sama and this place?"

The attacker leapt forth and the sword slashed across Sakura which she blocked with her kunai. Moving back, he again swung his sword which the kunoichi effortlessly avoided all with taijutsu. At the final swing upon her left side, Sakura accurately gathered enough chakra to destroy the approaching sword, before she witnessed an evil smirk among the broken pieces.

"Eh? Oh no!"

As he followed forth with his swing, he threw a forceful side kick at Sakura who managed to reduce the impact with her arms and landed sideways by attaching herself to the walls with chakra.

"That man… His swordsman skill is so refined. Probably better than Sasuke-kun. But it seems that his constant attacks from the right side must be the results of his closed right eye. If he's not opening it at all, then I shall strike the blind spot!"

With chakra on her feet, Sakura lunged forward towards the swordsman and landed several air punches and kicks onto him. However, with the next slash, she managed to stop the man's sword with her kunai, as planned.

"Shannaro!" The kunoichi finally hit the man's face with her enhanced left fist that caused the man to be thrown to the walls and several stones from the ceiling to drop. Although she finally got her first hit, she was not letting her guard down as the man slowly got onto his feet with his sadistic smirk again.

"I have to get out of here. This place is a disadvantage to use the chakra-strengthening taijutsu. I can't waste any more time but which way?"

Sakura carefully eyed on the entrances behind the man. Suddenly, her ninja instinct sensed something weird and quickly jumped forward as she turned to see vines reaching out for her. The combination of strikes and evasion had Sakura in pinch when the man found an opening and deeply slashed across Sakura's obi and stomach.

"Darn!"

Sakura leapt opposite the man, kneeling with her hand healing on the bloody wound and the other holding onto the medical pouch attached to the torn obi. Without hesitation, the golden eyed man took off to land the final strike on the wounded kunoichi.

Suddenly, the ceiling above them was destroyed, leaving a heavy pile of dust and sand in between the two. Initially blocking the dust storm with her right arm, Sakura heard lots of chirpings and glanced at the shadowy figure that slowly became more visible with the sandy pile thinning itself.

"Sa...suke-kun."

The Uchiha turned around to the kunoichi and saw her bloody wound. The sight of blood darkening her scarlet clothes further enraged Sasuke as his right hand was becoming more visible with the vanishing Chidori.

"Who did that, Sakura?"

"Eh?" Sakura carelessly responded.

"Who did it?!" Those words and Sasuke's Sharingan brought Sakura to memories of the Chunin Exams where Sasuke violently attacked her attacker which terrified her at that time.

The Uchiha turned to glare the swordsman and pulled out the chokuto from its sheath, casting Chidori onto it. With his anger intensified his chakra upon the sight of his important one to be harmed, the electrified chokuto further brightened the cavern, clearly revealing the man's left golden eye and the Uchiha's angered dual dojutsu.

"Was it you?"

"Those eyes… An Uchiha child?" Again, the man's expression changed to his listening stance. "What is it, Master?"

"Master?" Sasuke suspiciously looked at the withdrawing man who put his remaining sword back into its sheath. At the same time, he moved closer to Sakura who continuing healing her wound and observed the man closely. Through his Sharingan, he could see two different chakras residing in that man's body, but the chakra flow towards the right eye was somehow blocked.

"Is that so, Master? As you wish." The man stepped back in front of the entrance he came from and began forming quick hand seals, which Sasuke saw was an Earth-element type.

"The two of you…shall perish here!" The man hit the ground with his palm and the ground began to crumble. Noticing it beforehand, he quickly ran towards the wounded Sakura but was unable to reach her in time as he lost his ground then. As the ground crumbled, the two shinobis fell with the rocks and disappeared into the darkness.

"Sai, did you hear something?" Naruto turned to his teammate.

"No, but I sensed a bit of vibration on the ground. There must be a collapse somewhere."

"Yes, but where the heck are we?! It's like a maze! What's with these tunnel?!" Naruto whined.

"I knew we should not have followed your way." Sai sighed.

"Shut up, Sai! I'm good with directions, alright! We're just go this…..ARGHHH!"

The blonde fell over the entrance with Sai looking at the surroundings beyond the entrance. He found themselves in front of a dense jungle and Naruto being filled with dirt. Naruto looked around and asked "Ehm, here is…?"

"We're probably at the other side of the mountain. I wonder Sakura and Sasuke are in or outside now?"

Naruto took out his wireless radio and talked "Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan?!" Nothing but the buzzing sound that indicated no signal responded.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"So, you noticed, Naruto?"

"Yeah. You?" Naruto wondered.

"Yeah, along the way, even though they were well-hidden, there were sealing marks around the walls. If the same goes to the Sakura and Sasuke's path, there must be something big being sealed in this mountain."

"You're right, Sai. But who could spend all the time and chakra putting up those seals?"

"You buffoon…." A familiar voice spoke up in his head.

"Kurama!?" Naruto shouted which got Sai startled. Closing his eyes, Naruto then connected his mind to his subconscious, putting him in front of his long-time 'partner'.

"What a fool of you not to recognize your own clan's signature jutsu… Well, it can't be helped since the fall of the Uzumaki clan was long before your birth." The Kyuubi sarcastically spoke.

"You know them, Kurama?!"

"Yeah, too well. That's because it's a similar seal that Uzumaki Mito used to seal me in her."

"Uzumaki… Isn't that kaa-chan's predecessor dattebayo?"

"Ah…. That person. Hn, as noble as she looked, she's just as rowdy as any Uzumaki, like you." Naruto then chuckled as he remembered such words from his late mother.

"So then, do you know who or what was sealed there?"

"Hn! How the heck should I know that? I may have been sealed in Mito the longest but I don't necessarily know everything! It's probably before she sealed me in."

"Heee, aren't you just getting old, Kurama?"

"I ain't wanna hear that from you, brat! Now, get out!"

Naruto giggled with Sai worriedly staring at the blonde. Realizing that, the jinchuuriki coughed out and spoke to the artist "Kurama said that those seals were by the First's wife but he has no idea about the thing being sealed in."

"Is that so? The scout rats that I sent around happened to disappear before I could see the culprit. There's something going inside there." Sai looked earnestly at the mountain. "I think that we'll have to get to Sakura and Sasuke quickly."

Naruto confidently smirked "Hn, and I know just the jutsu to find them!"

"Warm…It's so warm but why?" Sakura thought as she last remembered falling among the rocks and Sasuke in front of her.

"That's right. Sasuke-kun!" The kunoichi managed to open her eyes to see faint light spots all over the darkness which gave enough brightness to look around. She first saw herself lying on her right and hugging the medical pouch in midst of dust and rocks settling down from the collapse. A sudden pain struck her as she forgotten about her injury that began bleeding again due to the fall. Feeling warmth on her left shoulder onwards, she looked up to see Uchiha Sasuke on top of her with his right elbow and upper left limb as pillars to support his body above hers.

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn. You're awake, Sakura?" Sasuke struggled to push himself up, same with Sakura.

"Wh...Did you shield me in the fall?!"

Ignoring his worried teammate, he sighed with relief that she could still be concerned of him and safe from injuries aside from the previous wound after he managed to catch her and casted Susanoo around them during the fall. Sakura felt apologetic for her being 'weak' during the fall and Sasuke spoke.

"We have to meet up with Naruto. Can you stand?"

Sakura nodded. He stood up and began walking when his poncho was pulled from the back.

"Sasuke-kun, wait."

"What now, Sakura?" Sasuke turned to see a serious Sakura pulling his poncho. "Look, if you're going to say something, save it. We have…"

"Before that, let me see your wounds first, Sasuke-kun." Sakura firmly interrupted which surprised the Uchiha.

"What are you…?"

"Don't lie. You can't hide them from me, Sasuke-kun. I know that you can't escape a fall like that without wounds or scratches." Due to her long experience, Sakura has grown accustomed to the scent of blood that she immediately smelled it from the poncho.

"Hn. Says the one with the bloody wound." The Uchiha stubbornly insisted.

"Look, I have already stopped the bleeding. Sasuke-kun, as a medical-nin, I cannot and will not let anyone to walk away with wounds at my sight. That's why you're going to stay here and let me heal them." Sakura looked at Sasuke with determined emerald eyes, refusing to give in to his demands.

For the first time, Sasuke felt dazzled by her persistence, not as his teammate but as a medical-nin. Thinking that she was and probably more stubborn than in the past, Sasuke finally gave in and sighed "Fine. But we're moving once you're finished, alright?"

"Em." Sakura nodded, silently thanking him in letting her heal his wounds that she could have gotten instead.

Sitting on the ground together, Sasuke first removed his poncho, revealing his black shirt and flak jacket with several fresh blood stains. Sakura withheld her sad expression as she knew that he got those wounds for shielding her but she realized something.

"Em, Sasuke-kun…I can't do my job with...your shirt on. So….you'll have to take it off." Sakura shyly requested.

Ignoring her flustered expression, Sasuke began removing the black bandages on his right arm and then his shirt, revealing his bare muscular upper body and bandaged left limb to the kunoichi. Struggling to keep her face straight, she quickly turned to her medical pouch to grab bandages while thinking how physically fine the Uchiha has become over the years. She tightly closed her eyes out of embarrassment, as the man in front of her was making her emotions going crazy even though she has been in many situations like this with other males. With little time, she gained composure to move behind and placed her hand onto his bare back. Sakura then began the treatment with deep reddened cheeks caused by the mere sensation of his back.

To Sasuke however, he realized she must have do the same for other guys throughout her medical career, but the thought of her touching other man's body displeased him greatly. But that again, aside from the soothing sensation of the medical jutsu on his body, the warmth of her hands on his back somehow dissolved his anger and also aroused a foreign feeling which he felt not to venture to.

"Damn it, what the hell am I thinking?" Sasuke quickly move away which startled Sakura.

"Wait a minute! I'm not done yet!"

"We're losing time."

"At least…" Sasuke turned his onyx eyes to the medical-nin. "Let me change your …left arm's bandages."

Sasuke looked at his missing arm and faced the girl. Sakura moved closer to the Uchiha and began to remove the tattered bandages around his left limb. Upon removal, she looked at the scarred limb and sadly reminisced the time she first looked at it being bloody with Naruto's. Meanwhile, Sasuke stared at the kunoichi who was wrapping his limb with fresh white bandages. His eyes glanced closely at every detail of her facial features, looking on how her eyes were half-closed, how her hair slowly fell down her face, how her lips….

"Ok, Sasuke-kun. It's done."

The Uchiha looked at his newly bandaged arm and then Sakura, who noticed his stare and looked away. The pink-haired girl began staring at the bright spots surrounding the cave, which mesmerized Sakura upon their simple beauty. Noticing her stare and curiosity, Sasuke decided to answer them without her asking.

"Glowworms."

"Glowworms?" Sakura shockingly asked of his sudden word.

"They are female larvae that emit light in the darkness like here."

"Heee…. They're beautiful." Sakura slowly admired the abnormal light surrounding them. She then turned her emerald eyes to meet with the onyx directly. For a moment there, time froze between the two, one whose feelings lingered for many years, yet unanswered and the other whose conflicts confused his present feelings. In that serene ambiance, both instinctively moved closer, drawn by the clarity of the other person's eyes.

Before they moved further, the wall behind Sasuke was destroyed, prompting the Uchiha to shield the kunoichi immediately. Sensing the known chakra behind, he looked at the debris and two shadowy figures beyond, annoyed by the 'third-wheels'.

"SASUKE! SAKURA-CHAN! YOU THERE!?"

"Naruto?!" Sakura shouted.

"Sakura-chan! Thank god you…are…safe?" Naruto in his Sage Mode stuttered as he stared at them.

Once the two noticed his look and looked around, they noticed that the half-naked Sasuke was on top of Sakura with his right hand supporting himself while Sakura lying down with her obi missing. To anyone at sight, they might be up to what a lovely couple would do without any care of the world. Realizing what their position implied to the two guys, Sasuke and Sakura immediately pulled away, blushing madly on the scene.

"Ehhh…what….em…how?" Naruto shyly stuttered.

Behind, Sai said in his smile "Looks like your plan works, Naruto."

"Eh? It's not what you think! We're just….!" Sakura shouted as the silent, flustered Sasuke began wearing his clothes again.

"But then…, didn't think Sakura-chan and Sasuke would move that fast…" Naruto said with his perverted smile.

"Naruto….." Sasuke glared at the two.

"Ah, you mean a love-making session?" Sai added oil in the fire.

Unable to hold her frustration, Sakura immediately punched the two guys far from them with Sasuke dumbfounded behind and her shout "GET YOUR HEADS TOGETHER, SHANNARO!"

"That hurts, Sakura-chan. Why didn't you say it quickly?" Naruto said as both he and Sai were rubbing their bruised cheeks.

"Hmph! That's what you get for jumping into conclusions." Sakura pouted as she packed up her pouch properly but she then looked back at the time in the cave.

"But…what was that just now? Not only it was the first time to be in such situation, but it's as if Sasuke-kun and I are about to….. Nonono! That's totally impossible." The kunoichi shook her head in denial.

"By the way, what are we going to do with the attacker in the mountain, Sakura?" Sai's question brought Sakura to reality.

"I'll report it to Hokage-sama but the cure is the main priority now. He'll probably send a team of ANBU to check it out." Sakura sat on the bird while gripping her pouch containing vials of sanshuyu and other plants.

The rest nodded. "Done. Sasuke-kun, what are you going to do from here?"

"You should follow us back, Sasuke!" Naruto insisted.

The two looked at surprise while Sai smiled at the order he expected. Naruto then dragged the Uchiha towards four ink birds that Sai created earlier.

"Oi, dobe, wait a mi….!"

"No complain, teme! Everyone's dying to see you back home!"

"…home, huh?" Sasuke looked down.

"Don't you think it's wise to report yourself for Kakashi-san and Naruto's sakes since you went unnoticed for three years, Sasuke?" Sai suggested a lie to help Naruto who appreciated it a lot by giving him a thumbs up.

"…Fine." Sasuke then rode on an ink bird without a care. In their respective minds, Sasuke and Sakura were preoccupied with the 'intimate' moment they had while Naruto was happily planning his next steps, probably with Kakashi-sensei's help this time.

The group then departed on Sai's ink birds towards Konoha, thinking of the possible situation happening in the village and the unexpected incident in the mountain.

Meanwhile, the golden-eyed swordsman was gazing at four birds flying away when a man and woman appeared behind him on top of the mountain.

With his golden-eyes looking beyond and short magenta hair flowing along the wind current towards the front, the man behind spoke "The spy has been set up and is on its way to the base, Gojou-san."

"Good job, Fuga. In a few days, it's about time for the master to awake and us to assist his revenge. On that place. On that woman." His sadistic smirk covered his once-frowned face, thinking of their revenge and their master.

###

Alright, that is it for now. Here, I want to show Sakura's strength firsthand though I'm not good in explaining fights. To be fair, I would expect Sakura to mature more than what Sasuke would expect her to, since he's in a way trapped in the past. The intimate scene between Sasuke and Sakura is something I thought of after watching the scene with Naruto and Hinata where both looked away with fireflies near a pond. Here we have two of them looked at each other with glowworms in the cave though things at the end got messy. But still, the moments between the two will be causing Sasuke to be confused with his future intentions (in this story, I mean^^)

Finally, in the next chapter, our beloved Team 7's back in Konoha and Kakashi's debuting finally! And I assure you guys, that things are getting better now.

Thanx for reading and pls review if you can. I appreciate it^^