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Chapter Six

Unwanted Guest: I'll Always Be There

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Sakura grumbled, "I wonder where Naruto could have gone." She had searched all over the village.

"Okay Sakura, think, think. Where would he have gone? Think like Naruto, think like Naruto." It was only then that she could have smelt it. The aroma of ramen! She had to admit it smelled delicious. "Damn it! I'm thinking like Naruto too much." She face palmed, a bit freaked out by that fact.

"We don't have time for this," Inner Sakura reminded her.

"Right!" Sakura ran up to the shop, hoping she'd spot the boy.

"Just great, he's not here." Sakura sighed, thinking where else he might be. She already searched almost everywhere else, so then where? She sat down, resting her tired, worn out legs and feet.

"Hello there little missy, what can I get for you?" the man asked politely. Sakura looked up towards the old man, a bit stunned. She'd been so used to the silence that the old man's voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"I just wanted to ask if you've seen a blonde boy. He's tan, has blue eyes, and is about this high," Sakura began as she gave an estimate of his height, just slightly below her own. "Oh yeah, and he wears an orange jumpsuit," Sakura mentioned. She waited as the old man pondered. His wrinkled face brightened when he thought of today and that kid.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Sakura's face brightened up.

"Great! Do you happen to know where he went?" she asked.

"As I recall, he was going to get some flowers," the man recalled. To this, Sakura seemed puzzled at the thought.

"Flowers? Why on Earth would he want to get flowers?" It seemed a bit odd, but she didn't question the thought, since she just wanted to find him as soon as possible. She nodded to the ramen man, thanked him, and looked for a flower shop. It was an easy task, for she saw one just across the street. She wasn't hesitant to go in, and noticed a beautiful young women standing before her.

"Hello ma'am, what may I do for you today?" Her cheerful energy made Sakura feel a little more relaxed than before, when she felt panic-stricken to find the blond haired boy before. Sakura took a deep breath.

"Hello. I was just wondering if you've seen a blond haired boy wearing an orange jumpsuit. I heard that he may have passed by here." The lady nodded at her words.

"Why, yes, he did. Yeah, you can't really forget that boy. He said he'd do something really dangerous…just for some handpicked tulips. The orange spotted ones only found in our country. I have to admit, he's such a risk taker. Gosh, I hope he's alright," she thought aloud, recalling today's events.

"Dangerous? Naruto…please… just don't do anything stupid." She looked over to the lady. "Excuse me, but what exactly was the dangerous thing he said he'd do?" she asked.

"Well, he's willing to go up a very dangerous mountain inside a cave. It's quite treacherous. Not just the landscape of it all, but there could be different types of carnivores or poisonous creatures lurking the cave where the flowers are at. I told him he shouldn't, but he just ran off. Uh, men," the woman sighed, shaking her head in disproval.

"Where is this cave exactly?" she asked.

"One second," the lady told her as she rummaged through her desk in search for a picture. "Ah, here it is." She brought the photo up to view.

"It's just outside the village, but… I hope you aren't thinking of following your friend there." She frowned. "Like I said, it's very dangerous."

"I…kind of have to." Sakura gave a sincere grin, turning to leave.

"That boy… are you two…together?" she asked, putting the pieces together. They certainly didn't resemble siblings, so there was only one other explanations.

"You know, I was wondering the same thing. Maybe." She gave a light hearted smile, giving a wave and a 'bye.' She ran off towards the entrance of the village, excited to know where he was. Although, she was frightened for his wellbeing as well. She had good reason to be.

"That idiot, always getting himself in trouble." However, she didn't sense that the two were in danger, too scared for Naruto. Sure enough, Takeshi was following the rosette.

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Both Kakashi and Sasuke decided a little bit of training would do them good. As the two descended the stairs, they heard a ruckus. It came from the front of the castle. Sasuke and Kakashi quickened there pace, when… BOOM! Sasuke defended himself from the smoke and debris, while Kakashi was able to avoid it all together. Sasuke's lungs filled with smoke. He coughed, lack of oxygen taking its affect. He was blinded by the smoke as well. As the smoke cleared, both Sasuke and Kakashi saw a figure standing on the stairs.

"Shun Souta, so you came, back eh?" Kakashi prepared himself.

"Hatake Kakashi. The last time, I underestimated all of your brats and let my guard down. This time, my mistakes won't repeat." He smirked as he stood.

"Sasuke," Kakashi whispered to him. "Go find the prince. He may be in grave danger. There are still two other grass ninjas that were with him." Sasuke smirked.

"I'll finish them off no sweat." Laughter was heard all through the castle. Souta's cackles filled the tense air.

"Oh? And now you're the ones underestimating us? And from a little brat like you? Ha! Don't make me laugh."

"Hmph, it's funny. You said you wouldn't make the same mistake again and yet you say that. Listen, don't underestimate this brat. In fact, don't underestimate any of my students. They're stronger than they appear to be," Kakashi reminded.

"We'll see about that."

"Maybe I should make you swallow those words." Sasuke scowled at the man before him.

"No, Sasuke. Do what I told you. The prince – you need to make sure the prince is safe." The Uchiha scoffed, but followed orders anyways. Kakashi watched his disappearing figure and then turned to Souta. "Now, let's have some fun." He gave a smile through his mask, deciding to finally unmask his sharingan eye.

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Sasuke ran, his sandals smacking against the linoleum floor. He wasn't planning on failing this mission. Not this mission, not any mission. He was going to protect the prince. However, he got sidetracked, wondering where his teammates would be at a time like this. There was only one person there, so the other two must be somewhere. The thought of his teammates kept running through his mind. Sheer worry streamed through his being. He wanted to focus on the goal, but couldn't help but think that his two teammates might be endangered. With his mind preoccupied, he hadn't seen it. He hadn't sensed a kunai heading towards him. His eyes widened once he saw the kunai embedded in the wall. He turned to see a young woman with long, silky black hair. Her eyes were flaming red, and she held a smirked that would be worn by a sinister lion.

"Why hello there, little boy." Sasuke grimaced at her words, scoffing.

"The names Uchiha, Sasuke." He watched her closely. Her eyes widened a bit.

"An Uchiha." She ended up giving a small chuckle.

"I see. And I am Aina, Sayuri. So you say you're an Uchiha, eh? We'll see how strong you really are." Sayuri crossed her arms, waiting.

"If you really want to find out then…" he smirked, ready for whatever she brought.

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Sakura was very frustrated. Frustrated with everything. She was frustrated with the prince, with the mission, with her feelings, with Naruto's antics, and worst of all, frustrated with the damn rocky mountain. It was bad enough her stamina wasn't particularly great, but the fact that climbing this mountain alone used up a crap load of chakra. It was pretty easy for her to be able to concentrate her chakra to the soles of her feet. The problem was maintaining it. She nearly slipped 5 times, but she was still strong. She knew she could handle something like this. She just had to keep on going. I have to find him… She was determined.

As she made it past the last rock, she laid flat on her back, wheezing. "I did it!" As she caught her breath, she turned to her stomach to stand back up. She did just that and walked inside the dark cave. Sakura was frightened. Bugs could be anywhere, and she did not like bugs, especially spiders. She staggered slowly, trying not to make a sound, for something might wake up. Something that could be big, with claws, or insidious fangs.

"Get a grip Sakura," she told herself, taking a breath to try and ease herself. She continued to confidently walk, ready to face whatever challenges came up. As she walked in deeper, she noticed a source of light coming from the open space at the top of the cave. Her eyes widened in wonderment.

It was a meadow.

So many flowers… and there he was, surrounded by flowers of all kinds. His expression seemed so serene, calm, and just… peaceful. That scene was so beautiful in her eyes. He was beautiful. She didn't want to ruin his cheerful self by doing anything. She just wanted to watch him – just watch. It had been passed a minute until Naruto finally gazed up to see her.

She smiled –her soft, passive smile. Damn, the way the light hit her…her hair seemed extra silky. Her emerald eyes sparkled even more, as if each were both jewels that shone brightly. The flowers surrounding her made it feel like one of his dreams he always had of her, only the real thing was, by far, better, he decided. She may have had a lot of dirt marks, cuts, and bruises all over, but that didn't matter. It was her, and she was gorgeous in his eyes.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto beamed.

"Naruto." She walked towards him while Naruto stood up. Oh yes, this was like one of his dreams alright. They'd be at some sort of park where flowers surrounded them. Then she'd run up to him and give him a warm embrace, whispering sweet things in his ear, while he whispered them back. Then the two would-

Bonk! She didn't know what else to do. It was out of habit, perhaps?

"Oh, you idiot. What were you thinking?" Sakura asked, worried. She examined his body, making sure nothing bad happened to him.

"Neh, Sakura-chan, I'm fine," he laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"No, you aren't. What's that?" she asked. Three deep gashes to his arm. Sakura looked closer, trying to see while Naruto squirmed. "Naruto, let me see it."

"Ah, Sakura-chan, don't touch it. It still stings a little. Neh, what are you even doing here anyways, Sakura-chan?" he asked, still squirming from her touch.

"I came looking for you of course!"

"But, why?" She stopped what she was doing and stared at the ground. She bit her lip and gulped.

"Listen, we need to talk…about today," Sakura started. She sighed. It's either now or never.

"Neh, Sakura-chan, don't worry about it. We didn't need to prove anything to that bastard! Hehe. It's okay, Sakura-chan. I understand. That's why…I told Kakashi that we'd show him that we'd just go back to being teammates again, but don't worry, we'll find another way. No way will that bastard have you!"

"Teammates? Not even saying friend?" She sighed, "No, Naruto."

"Naruto, you don't understand, I-" but she was interrupted.

"Hmph, look at what I found here. Hehehe. You two – you both hurt my teammate. I don't like it when someone tries to hurt any of my teammates. You may have been able to defeat Sayuri, but you won't have a chance against me. I'll make the both of you pay." Takeshi smirked. Naruto walked passed Sakura, clenching his hands and gritted his teeth.

"You think you can defeat me so easily? You better not underestimate me!"

"Well then?"

"Bring it!" With a kunai in his hand, Naruto charged.