Disclaimer: I really don't own anything, I swear!

Sakura's day had started out great. She had made sure Hinata was comfortable, and she had shown Sasuke that she wasn't some weak girl, she was now free to do as she pleased. So now, as the bright afternoon sun tried to make it's way through the boards of the ship, Sakura was running for her life.

Her boots splashed in a puddle as she raced along a wall that bordered the ships insides. Her breathing was ragged, and her feet ached from running so much, but she couldn't stop. She made a sharp turn, trying to throw off her pursuer who wasn't far behind the pink haired beauty. She flew passed crew members who looked at her like she was insane, but a moment later, when they saw who was chasing her, their faces relaxed with realization.

Sakura had to think fast, the kitchen wasn't far off, but the turn to the main deck would be passed between that time, so it was the main deck or the kitchen. Thinking fast, Sakura turned to sprint up the steps only to find two men carrying a barrel below decks, completely blocking the pathway. Stumbling back, Sakura glanced behind her to meet two warm brown eyes. Gasping, she turned and started to race for the kitchen.

Stepping foot in the doorway, Sakura spun around and slammed the door shut, pressing her back against it to keep the crazy individual at bay. Sighing, Sakura took deep breaths to steady herself. She pressed her head against the smooth wood and listened. Hearing nothing, she slowly pushed off the door and started to look about the kitchen for a moment. Looking around, she noticed that the table and chairs in the dining area were occupied by a few men and looked cleaner than earlier when she had been here. In fact, the whole area looked brighter and cleaner than before. Looking to the kitchen, she saw a flash of blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

Sakura froze.

It couldn't be… It just couldn't be… Sakura's gut began to twist and illogical thoughts started to crowd her mind. It was in no way possible that this very person could be on this boat. It had to be a mistake, someone else.

As Sakura took a step in the direction of her new interest, the door she had hoped would never open was practically kicked off it's hinges and almost immediately the barrel of a pistol made contact with her forehead.

"Gotcha." The voice was laced with smug pride, and Sakura would have retorted if she hadn't been so distracted.

However, the door being kicked down had brought a lot of attention to the two individuals, making all eyes turn to them. Those sparkling blue eyes… Having turned to look that way, they were now widened in pure surprise.

There was silence.

And then a high pitched voice pierced the stillness with an exclamation of shock.

"Forehead?!"

Sasuke tried to hide his annoyance as he sat through the rest of the meeting with Shikamaru and Naruto. After being "shown up" by Sakura, he was extremely irritated. More so than usual.

It was a while before their meeting was finished, and and almost immediately before Naruto dismissed Shika, Sasuke stood up and took long strides to leave the seemingly confining room at the time.

"Just a moment, Sasuke. I need to speak with you." Naruto said quickly, not wanting him to leave just yet.

Sasuke felt anger bubble up inside of him, but he held himself. Naruto was his friend, sure, but he was also his captain. Despite his internal desires to be free from this place and do his work outside, he had to show respect.

Shikamaru stood and gathered papers lazily. When he walked past Sasuke to leave, he smirked slightly.

"Have fun." He muttered and left.

Annoyed by his comment, Sasuke made a grunting noise and went to sit down in front of Naruto.

"What is it?" He sighed.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, looking stressed and tired, despite it only being around the afternoon. Folding his hands in front of him on the desk, he looked a bit more serious than before.

"Listen, Sasuke, I understand that you're annoyed by these girls being on the ship, but you need to show them some form of respect. They really haven't done anything wrong at all, and you're acting like a douche. Do I need to order you to be nicer? Or…" Naruto let his sentence hang in the air, wanting Sasuke to understand.

He certainly understood why Sasuke was acting the way he was, but he was being a bit too excessive. Naruto didn't plan on this happening, but so far he didn't mind it. Hinata was a very nice girl, and having her follow him around was pretty fun for him. Of course he understood that Sasuke was extremely different and most likely hated the constant company, but he shouldn't be so mean to Sakura. It's not like she had a choice to be here or not…

Sighing, Sasuke leaned back and folded his arms. Though Sasuke was annoyed, he knew Naruto was right. He'd just have to put up with it for the rest of the week…

"You don't have to order me to do anything. I'll do as you ask." Sasuke said, replying to his previous statement.

Naruto smiled, looking relieved.

"Don't worry, Sasuke, it'll just be us soon again. We'll sail on our adventure just like we've always planned!" Naruto explained enthusiastically.

Sasuke dropped his attitude then. If Naruto was good at only one thing in this world, it was rubbing his happiness off on other people.

"I'm holding you to that, dobe." He smirked and stood up.

"Yeah yeah. Now go do your job, teme!" Naruto laughed.

Walking to the door in a slightly better mood, Sasuke was about to leave when Naruto said one last thing.

"Oh, and apologize to Sakura."

Sasuke's good mood had lasted for less than three seconds.

Sakura was still in shock.

She was currently sitting at a table with a cup of tea in her hands with her long lost best friend talking to her previous pursuer. She had so many emotions bubbling up inside of her, she really didn't know what to do. The tea barely helped calm her, and all she felt like doing was screaming right now. Confusion and pain whirled about in the girls mind, battling for her attention while a dusting of red colored her cheeks in a small flush of anger and sadness. Though the happiness and adrenaline she felt excited her, making her tap her foot on the ground and her fingers against her cup. Whispers of torment and tenderness would sometimes leave her pouting lips, soft and low enough for no one to hear. She bit back tears and fought away joy, unable to understand what was going on.

The Master Gunner was currently talking to the one who was causing Sakura such dilemma, chatting like old friends. Sakura wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but instead watched the other determined and lighthearted dame.

"Well, I have to get back now. See you later, Sakura! Maybe we can try that again sometime." She laughed, nudging Sakura who pretty much ignored her.

"See you later, Tenten!" The blonde smiled.

Sitting down, the blue eyed beauty sighed excitedly and waited for the first question to be thrown her way. But after a moment of silence, nothing came. Sakura was just, staring at her… Well, she wasn't one for silence.

"So Sakura, how have you been?" She started off.

There was more silence.

Sweat-dropping, she decided to just keep talking.

"Y-you know, I really missed you! It's been what, almost fourteen years? You look pretty good! Though you still have that large forehead of yours! I've been keeping well myself honestly. I've seen so many beautiful things! I really wanted to share them with you, but alas, I couldn't… It's been a wonderful time though, really! If I had the chance-" Sakura stood suddenly and slammed her tea cup down. The blonde looked up at her in shock and finally noticed the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I-Ino, I thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead!" Sakura covered her face as the emotions became too much for her to handle. She started to softly sob as she remembered the pain she had went through.

Ino was silent, feeling the guilt she had tried so hard to get rid of come back.

"Sakura…" Ino really didn't know how to console her friend.

It was true that Ino had run away when she was ten, seeking adventure for her life. She had left everyone behind, her family, her friends… She had told no one of where she was going since she didn't even know herself. She didn't even leave an explanation or anything like that, she just up and disappeared. She did miss everyone once in a while, but she had caught a job on a ship as a kitchen rat, and from then on her love for sailing had truly taken off. Growing up in a port city, she already understood many things about boats and ships and all of that lovely stuff, so taking a job on one wasn't bad at all.

But alas, all she had truly done was hurt people.

Ino stood up and walked over to Sakura, about to touch her on the shoulder when she thought otherwise. She didn't have the right to touch someone she had hurt so much… Sighing, she turned around and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you, Sakura… I'll avoid you for the rest of the trip if you want. I understand if you hate me." Ino took a step forward before her hand was grasped tightly from behind. Turning around, she saw Sakura's bright green eyes shining through tears that now made their way down her beautiful face.

She then saw something that shocked her more than death itself.

A smile.

"I don't hate you, Ino. I miss you." Sakura pulled Ino in for a tight, well overdue hug.

The girls spent the next several hours talking with one another about their lives. Sakura told Ino of how she caught a job at the Hyuuga estate and her adventure of running away and ending up on the ship. Ino told her story of having been looking for the main cook role upon a ship and how she ended up seeing the flyer for crew members for this one a while back. Having been excited, she jumped at the opportunity to be running her own kitchen and now worked as a cook on the Sharinkitsune. The girls moved on into the kitchen while they talked, preparing food for the crew as they talked. It was a good time for the both of them. They both spoke to one another as if they hadn't seen each other in a few days, not years.

Hours later, the girls were still speaking to one another in the kitchen while cleaning up from the dinner rushes along with a few others. You'd think they might have run out of topics to speak on, but that wasn't so for them. They talked the night away, and Sakura felt happy. For years, she had thought Ino was dead. That was one of the reasons as to why she was so clingy and loyal to Hinata, having developed fears of abandonment and rejection after her parents died, and Ino disappearing.

Sighing, the blonde stood from her place at the table, stretched and yawned.

"Well, Forehead, I think it's about time we put all this on hold. I have to get up early, y'know! Being the cook, the food always has be ready early on! We'll be able to talk tomorrow right?" She questioned, placing a hand on her hip.

Sakura stood as well, smiling at Ino.

"If we don't, I'll make sure you're dead this time." She winked.

Ino laughed and hugged Sakura tightly.

"I'm happy I've found you." She whispered.

Sakura pat Ino's back.

"I'm happy too."

Sasuke was making a few last rounds before heading off to bed. He had one more thing to check before he was finally free to be alone, wanting that more than anything at this point. He walked across the clean deck of the Sharinkitune, the only sound being his boots hitting the dry wooden boards and the sea crashing against the ship. A few crew members were out for their night shift, but no one bothered him. Sighing, he head up the stairs to the top deck to check with one of the navigational members.

Reaching the top, he stopped up short. There, standing at the back of the ship, looking up at the heavens above, was Sakura. He shook his head once, scolding himself for being caught off guard for no reason at all. Stepping up, he went to the man who was currently keeping the ship on it's course.

Sasuke didn't look, but he knew Sakura had noticed him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her sweep a lock of hair behind her ear and wipe her face with the back of her hand. He made a mental note to inquire nonchalantly about what was the matter with her.

Not that he cared at all, though.

Exchanging a few words with the brunette at the wheel, he figured out what he needed to know. Sasuke nodded his head and then turned to the other matter at hand. And he thought he was done for the night…

He took a few strides over to where he was now a foot away from Sakura, who was leaning against the railing and pretending that she hadn't noticed him, even though she clearly had.

Though he planned on talking to her, he was suddenly unsure about how to start a conversation. He wasn't usually the one to do so, and when he did he always had a good reason to. Right now, he didn't. However Sakura was kind enough to save him from his inward battle on what would be the correct thing to say first.

"Do you know someone on the ship named Yamanaka Ino?" Sakura's soft voice broke the silence.

"Yamanaka Ino? You mean the head cook?" Sasuke was surprised by what she asked, but didn't question it.

Sakura nodded her head.

"Yeah, her…"

There was more silence.

Sighing, Sakura turned around and leaned her back against the railing looking up at the twinkling stars above. She wondered why Sasuke was by her, unmoving and not speaking. She would have thought that he was angry about what happened earlier today, but nonetheless it was odd.

"Ino used to live in Port Konoha with me. We were best friends until she apparently ran away years and years ago." Sakura said, unknowing why she was telling him this. Maybe she just needed someone to talk to who wouldn't blabber about. Goodness knows Sasuke would never gossip.

"What do you mean by apparently? Are you unsure about whether she ran away or not?" Sasuke inquired, taking advantage of the topic to continue conversation.

"We thought she had died. She didn't leave any notes or anything, she just disappeared. All those years and I thought she was dead…" Sakura turned away from Sasuke, for tears threatened to fall. There was so much pain being remembered at this time…

Sasuke, on the other hand, felt extremely uncomfortable. He hadn't known Sakura for that long at all and he had already seen so many sides of her that she most likely wouldn't have shown to many people. What an interesting creature she is…

"Sakura…" Sasuke reached a hand out and touched her hand, thinking that it was even softer than it appeared. Sakura jumped slightly and turned around in almost a frightened manner to look at him.

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat when he saw her, an unexpected wave of shock overcame him and he was silent.

The moonlight shown beautifully bright, casting down light and bathing the two in silver. The stars blazed above them, and the ocean wind swept across the deck, swirling around them both and making Sakura's hair blow softly. Sasuke was caught by her shining emerald green eyes, thinking them even more intriguing than the skies above.

Sakura was shocked that Sasuke had even touched her, and now he kept looking at her with those intense, beautiful black and red speckled eyes. She felt as if she had been captured, unable to look away from them. He seemed to be studying her, which made her feel slightly self-conscious of his never-ending gaze. For a moment it looked as if he was leaning in, but a second later he was unmoving. Maybe that had been her imagination… Sakura was suddenly very aware of how close the two really were, and, in turn, couldn't help but glance at his thin lips, which were in a slight line of discomfort.

An unexpected wave of avidity washed over Sakura, making her quickly glance up at Sasuke, clearly awaiting the moments to come, wanting to see what the next move would be.

Sasuke suddenly dropped Sakura's hand and turned away swiftly.

"Get some sleep. You have a lot to do tomorrow." He said abruptly, walking away.

Sakura stood there in shocked silence, unmoving and suddenly confused. She watched him go, his broad shoulders and dark hair quickly disappearing from her view as he went down the deck stairs. Slowly, Sakura turned back to the railing and stared out at the dark waters below, bewildered and distressed.

Sasuke's head was sightly cloudy for once in his life. He couldn't make sense of it all, the situation that had just occurred and why he had been so out of it. He scolded himself fiercely for having been so taken aback. His boots thumped loudly as he made his way across the deck, the wind growing stronger. Sighing, he rejoiced in the fact that he could just go to bed now.

Opening the hatch to the decks below, he started to descend into the darkness.

*Covers head and tries to duck away from the firing bullets* I'M SORRY! I'M REALLY SORRY, OKAY?! I HAVE GOOD EXCUSES FOR NOT UPLOADING! I SWEAR!

But first let's talk about this chapter- It was difficult to write, yeah, but also pretty fun and heartfelt. I'd greatly appreciate it if you guys would review and tell me what you thought of the heavy theme of Ino running away and things like that. Do you want it more serious? Do you want to keep it fluffy? What do you think of the relationship status right now? Let me all know in a review!

I again apologize for the wait on the upload, but it's here at last, right? I'll skip the excuses too lol, you don't need to hear them. (just know that they were real!) I'll catch you guys later!

Much love from this little Spinner's heart to yours!