Several nights had passed.
Everytime Sakura would wake up in the morning, she feels empty but worry-free. Sasuke isn't appearing in her dreams anymore. He's gone.
Deep inside her she's still wishing she could see him. But her mind told her that it's good, because she can completely forget about him.
I'll be back, Sakura, he said.
But he won't anymore, she thought. It's good for me. Yes, I know it's good for me. She smiled in triumph.
"Sakura-chan?"
"Yes?" She looked at Naruto, still wearing a smile.
Naruto gave her a why-are-you-smiling look.
She glanced sideways, while walking with her team mates. "Why are you looking at me like that…"
"It appears you're very relaxed these days, Sakura-chan." And you're not punching me anymore, Naruto thought and grinned.
"Y-yeah! I'm also just thinking about the new mission Tsunade-sama would give us."
Naruto nodded. "I'm also wondering what it is."
Team Kakashi stepped inside the Hokage's room.
"You four are on time." The Hokage commented. "I won't wait longer to say the mission, because it's urgent. So, your mission is to investigate the previous Orochimaru's hideout."
"Previous Orochimaru's hideout?" Naruto, Sai and Sakura said in unison.
"Yes." Tsunade answered, puzzled. "Is there something wrong with it?"
"Nothing." Naruto scratched his head. "What will we do there, Granny?"
"Just investigate, because it might leave traces that will pinpoint us to their next hideout location. Understand?"
"Yes!" The four agreed.
"And, Yamato, I take you in charge of these three."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"Good. Now, prepare and you should travel before nightfall comes."
The team traveled for almost two days.
Every meter, they're getting nearer the hideout. Also, Sakura's anxiousness is growing. What would happen in that place when she gets there? She can sense something will happen. But she doesn't want to think about it.
And now, they're standing in front of the hideout.
"Sai." Yamato signaled.
"Okay." Sai answered as he brought out his scroll, brush and ink. He drew many little rats swiftly but still accurately. After casting a jutsu, the rats sprang to life and rushed inside the hideout.
The team waited for minutes and Sakura noticed a larger rat had emerged from the darkness of the door's shadow. The rat appears to be the 'leader'. It approached Sai, and Sai appears to understand its squeaks.
Then it disappeared.
"The rats said there's no one inside." He seriously told them. "We can investigate freely inside."
Yamato nodded as he walked inside. His members followed.
Sakura was walking along a dimly-lit hallway.
Yamato told them to split up and search. They should meet each other at the main chamber in two hours' time.
Sakura felt comfortable. As far as it goes, nothing bad is happening to her, here inside the hideout. And all she needs to do is to do her mission.
Her 'problem' seemed to be solved. She wasn't thinking about him that much anymore. Good thing he doesn't appear to her every night in her dreams. She felt free again. Free of worries and fretfulness.
Maybe in moment's time, she would completely forget about him. Moving on hurts, but it does something good in your life.
She noticed that along the hallway there are many rooms. I need to investigate each room.
After one hour, she scrutinized every room, as she thought earlier. There she found some things like oddly-shaped shurikens and kunai. These things might help in tracking them. She also found a hard-bound diary of what appears a female warden. And lots of other things. She would give it to their captain later.
Early as it seems, she'll go back to the main chamber already. There aren't anymore rooms waiting to be inspected, so she'll go back.
Except for a locked room at the end of the hallway.
She punched it hard a while ago, but even with her brute strength, she can't smash it. It seems that door needs a key, but she can't find the key, and gave up on it. She'll just tell it to Yamato later.
While walking, she felt the things she's holding are going out of balance. The not-so-good-smelling clothes fell first, then the hard-bound diary next. It made a loud thump on the cold concrete ground.
Then something tinkled.
She placed the things down and looked at the diary. Not far from it, a key lay.
Is this the key to the locked room? She thought. Sighing, she fixed the other things and placed it on a corner. She then picked up the key – it's silver – and ran to the direction of the locked room.
She twisted the doorknob. The door creaked open.
She stepped inside and felt the coldness of the room. Its peculiar coldness.
The room is slightly dim as she walked inside. And mysteriously, a candle lit at the center of the room. Her pulse ran faster. Sai is wrong, she thought, there is someone here! Someone that might kill her… Kabuto, or worse, Orochimaru.
Sakura turned slowly and silently made her way to the ingress of the room. She held the doorknob and twisted it deliberately.
Leaving already?
Her hand jerked away from the doorknob, as if it electrified her. Her pulse raced faster. That voice… In my mind…
She turned around, eyes wide in shock.
Sasuke!
The door shut behind her.