Author's Note: I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER!! Please forgive me and R&R. :)

Disclaimer: Naruto is taken by Masashi Kishimoto.

Welcome Back

Kakashi grunted when he heard the knock on his office door. Once again he was being interrupted from the work that had stacked up due to Sasuke's absence. He was in the middle of initiating a conformation on a request sent by a tiny assistance and now he just smudged the lettering. His mood on a thin thread he called the visitor inside.

Said visitor strode in without hesitation, revealing themselves to him. Dressed in a mixture of iron and leather, the female soldier stood in front of Kakashi's desk and posed with a smile. Kakashi sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration. He knew this woman quite well; in fact they were relatively good friends.

"What can I do for you Anko that is more important than my paperwork?" he asked with a sneer.

"Just wanted to see how my old pal Kakashi was doing," Anko replied happily, sitting down in a chair by the desk and lifting her feet to rest them on the desk.

Loose pieces of dried mud fell from her boots and onto his paperwork, which Kakashi dusted off quickly.

"If you're going to ask me to spar with you, I can't," he told her roughly. "Don't you have prison duty today?"

Anko frowned. Prison duty was a chore that each soldier had to do at least once in a while during their service. A soldier had to deliver meals to inmates and then survey the prison until their shift was over. Everyone hated to do it since they were disgusted by the prisoners and today happened to be Anko's day.

"Funny you should mention that," she said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "That's the real reason why I'm here."

Kakashi folded his hands together and rested his chin on them. He stared his friend down intensively so that she understood how irritated he was becoming. She shifted uncomfortably under his stare. When she didn't elaborate on the matter, Kakashi cleared his throat and spoke.

"Anko, I swear if you don't just spit out why you're here, then I'm going to send you out to the border with Gai," he threatened her. "And trust me I'll make sure he thinks that the reason you're there is to challenge his youthfulness."

Anko immediately went pale and Kakashi knew he had her in his grasp.

"Well," she started off, not making eye contact with him. "Do you remember those three criminals hired by Itachi?"

Kakashi slowly nodded. "The ones hired to kidnap Sakura? What about them?"

Anko cringed before she answered, "Um, they're gone."

Kakashi's only visible eye narrowed and his brow furrowed. It wasn't possible, their prison was supposed to be impossible to escape from. They had updated it since Itachi's rule, so how did these three escape?

"Gone?" he repeated, not quite sure if he should believe her.

"Their cell doors were wide open when I started my shift this morning," she explained. "I don't know how this happened."

"I think I do," Kakashi said sternly. "Who has the shift before you?"

"I'm not sure," Anko answered with a shrug. "No one really pays attention to that detail. We just go on duty when were summoned."

Kakashi got up and went to a bookshelf in the back corner of the room. He pulled a black book from the shelf and walked back to his chair. He swatted away Anko's hand which was playing with the leaves of his plant and began to flip through the book. The crisp pages crinkled when they were touched. Finally, he found the page he was looking for and scanned through it. Anko watched him and made herself more comfortable in her chair.

"What do you know about a man named Kabuto Yakushi?" Kakashi asked without looking up from the page.

"Why?"

"Because he had the shift before you," was the response.

"What idiot hired him so I can personally kick them in the ass?!" Anko almost shouted.

"So you're familiar with him?"

"I've been profiling his master for years now," she said with extreme venom. "And I know you know who I speak of."

Of course Kakashi knew. In fact, everyone knew. The guy was a criminal and had started his own country that harbored people like him.

"He works for Orochimaru?" Kakashi asked, hoping he was wrong.

Anko nodded. "And you know who Orochimaru follows."

Kakashi didn't know why this knowledge wasn't presented to him in the first place. Who on earth hired this Kabuto in the first place? A background check was mandatory for all army recruits. They had to find whoever hired Kabuto and more importantly find the escaped prisoners.

Just great. Kakashi thought. Just a few more issues to add to my list.

"Anko," Kakashi said, rising once again from his seat.

"Yes Kakashi?" Anko replied.

"Go and tell Iruka to take your place in the prison."

A grin tugged on her lips. Iruka was known to report to work sick on his prison duty days and hasn't done one since. It was Anko's pleasure to deliver the news to him. When she was at the doorway, she looked back.

"What's the catch?" she asked gripping the entrance.

"You're going to assist me on doing some research," Kakashi told her with a hidden grin.

"Fantastic," Anko said under her breath as she left.

It took a few days for Suna to get most of the debris cleared from the streets. A lot of buildings were still in construction, but the city was pretty much back in its routine. Luckily, the death toll was low, having the majority of the population severely or just slightly injured. It was only a matter of time before the city looked like its old self.

Sakura and the boys helped out during those few days in Suna as well. Being the medic that she was, Sakura immediately aided those wounded in the attack. She was accompanied by the very medics that she had found boring during her day in Suna. They didn't seem so dull now as they barked out orders to her and other doctors like themselves. Sasuke and Shikamaru helped the men in Suna in clearing away all fallen rubble that they could find. It didn't matter if it was small as a pebble or as large as a horse, the debris was taken care of. It took a lot of hard work, but it was worth it in the end. The people of Suna were definitely grateful for the assistance.

On their last day there, the citizens from Konoha were led out through the cliffs by the royal family. Gaara, wrapped in many bandages, leaned on his servant Matsuri for support as he shook Sasuke's hand. Both men wore blank expressions and parted with a respectful nod. Temari gave both Shikamaru and Sakura a hug, giving Sakura some herbs only grown in Suna as a gift. In return, Temari received a wide smile.

"I thank you once again for staying to help," Gaara said kindly. "Remember that Konoha is always welcome here and that we are in your debt."

Sasuke responded with a brief nod and kicked his horse into motion. Shikamaru did the same as did Sakura, who turned back around to wave. She grinned when she got three waves in return (not including Gaara).

"So we are heading back to Konoha?" Shikamaru asked wearily when they were somewhat far away from Suna. "Right?"

Sasuke nodded from up front. "But only for a little while."

Shikamaru could have fallen off his horse.

"We came to Suna to bring you home, where do you think you're going to go after Kakashi gets to you?" he told Sasuke.

Sasuke glanced back at him, his eyes dark and narrowed. He looked sort of annoyed with Shikamaru and then turned back forward.

"I don't really care what Kakashi will think about it. He can't do anything about it since I'm the king," Sasuke said as-matter-of-factly. "Besides you're coming too, as is Neji and Naruto."

"To Otoga," Sakura said before Shikamaru could ask. "Sasuke has some business there and I told him that he couldn't go alone."

"You're going too Sakura?" the Ambassador questioned. More importantly, how did you make him take more people along?

"Yes," both Sakura and Sasuke answered.

Shikamaru shook his head and looked at the sky. They were crazy wanting to go there. Rumored to be the city run by the worst possible criminals besides Kiri, it was idiotic to want to go there. These two must have something wrong with them. Surely Kakashi wouldn't let them go there, Sasuke as the king or not. However, what was in Otoga that Sasuke wanted? It wasn't really Shikamaru's place to ask, but sure that whatever it was it wasn't going to be particularly good. He would have to wait and see.

"You three are idiots!" Kakashi yelled at them when they finally returned back to Konoha. "Complete and utter idiots!"

"We had perfectly good reasons for leaving," Sakura argued. "And if you had allowed me to leave in the first place, then I wouldn't have left."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed angrily at them. "Well, this could have been avoided if you had actually listened to me," he explained to Sakura. "It was for your own safety that I told you to stay."

He looked to Shikamaru. "I can't believe you let her talk you into taking her. You are one of the most sensible people I know."

Shikamaru only shrugged, not wanting to get into a fight with Kakashi since he found it too troublesome to do so. Then Kakashi turned his sights on Sasuke. "And you, what were you thinking?"

Sasuke grunted and folded his arms like an invitation to a challenge. The tension in the room thickened as Kakashi responded by also folding his arms and making himself look like he had some authority.

"A king does not leave his country without warning," Kakashi grumbled. "It can leave it in a state of panic and vulnerable. Luckily, your absence was not known outside of the castle. What was going through your mind?"

Sasuke sat up from the chair he sat in and looked down at Kakashi's figure. He was fuming mad at the man for questioning his motives. He was king after all and the last time he checked, that was the highest form of authority in Konoha. Since he had been gone for a while, his duties had fallen to Kakashi, his second in command, and made him the temporary leader of Konoha. This little taste of power probably got to Kakashi's head letting him think that he could ask such questions from someone of high power when he certainly couldn't. However, Sasuke still respected the man and his view on things.

"Well, I guess this absence won't be so alarming," Sasuke practically spat, still a little bit mad. "I'm going to leave for Otoga in a couple of days."

Kakashi almost did a face-palm. "Why are you being so stupid?"

"And I'm not going alone," the king went on. "I'm taking Neji and Naruto along with Shikamaru and Sakura. Just a small group that I'm certain wouldn't get in my way."

Kakashi did not reply. He sat there silently, musing on the thought. He did not like this plan, not one bit. It was too dangerous to go to Otoga with just five people. It was the type of place that an army was taken to provide protection. It was dangerous and stupid, especially stupid. He had to let Sasuke go though. He couldn't say no to his king.

Just then, Anko burst through Kakashi's office door with her arms full of scrolls and books. She sprawled them onto Kakashi's desk and huffed.

"Here's everything I could find on those five," she said to Kakashi, not noticing the other three in the room. "Took awhile since someone decided it was funny to take all the books out of order."

Sasuke cleared his throat and Anko whisked around. Her eyes widened and she did a deep bow.

"Sorry, Your Highness, I didn't see you there," she retorted. She looked to the other two and smirked. "Hello Sakura, Shikamaru."

Sakura and Shikamaru greeted her with a nod. She put her attention back towards Kakashi and placed her hands on her hips.

"Everything from pictures to family heritage, it's all there," she enlightened Kakashi.

The silver-haired man collected the papers and arranged them into a stack. "Thank you Anko, you can go and relieve Iruka now."

The woman grunted, marching out of the room madly. Kakashi paid no mind to her exit and glanced at the king.

"How long are you going to be gone for?" he asked calmly.

Sasuke shrugged, not giving a specific answer. Kakashi sighed and fingered through the papers and scrolls. He picked out five worn-out papers and spread them out nicely on his desk. Each page had a picture on it and lettering spelling out "wanted" right above them. Three of these faces were familiar to Sasuke, but not the other two.

"While you were gone," Kakashi said placing his hand on the three familiar faces. "Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu escaped with help of this man, Kabuto Yakushi, posing as a guard."

He pointed at the man with glasses to explain and then led that hand to the face of an older man.

"This is Orochimaru, master to Kabuto and the other three as well. He runs Otoga as you may know."

The three frowned. This didn't seem like a good situation. The fact that someone had gotten on the inside to set those criminals free was somewhat unsettling.

"So Itachi had an alliance with Orochimaru it seems," Sasuke implied, studying the pictures. "They gave each other whatever they asked for, no matter what it was."

Kakashi nodded, stating that Sasuke was indeed correct. The king took all five photos and folded them into his pouch.

"We'll keep an eye out for them when we get there," he stated. "We leave in two days."

Sakura and Shikamaru stood up and left the room, assuming that the conversation was over. Sasuke, on the other hand, was stopped by Kakashi on his way out.

"Orochimaru is not the only threat you will have to watch out for," he began. "There is man that he follows, someone who is especially hazardous."

"Hn."

"You've heard of him before I suppose," Kakashi stated, his tone rough. "Madara Uchiha."

Sasuke stiffened after hearing the name of his relative. Madara was next on his list of people he wanted to hunt down. He was considering seeking the other Uchiha out after he had a little visit with Orochimaru. Madara was a threat to his kingdom and had to be taken out. So when Kakashi told him that Orochimaru followed Madara, Sasuke had known this little tidbit of information already. He wondered if Kakashi knew that he knew and was just telling him it all again to stress how dangerous this trek was going to be.

"You know about his little band of criminals, Akatsuki," Kakashi went on. "I think you would since Itachi was part of it."

"What are you getting at Kakashi?" the king asked coarsely.

"Just be careful Sasuke," was the reply. "Not much is known about Akatsuki. So if you're going to meet with a puppet or possible member of it, then I advise you watch your step."

Sasuke nodded and took a scroll off of his old mentor's desk. It had a seal on it, an earth pressed onto paper in black wax. He opened it, inspecting the page, and closed it once he was satisfied. Kakashi eyed him as he did this. In Sasuke's hand was a map, one that Kakashi had especially made for himself that included every country and every landmark known to man. It was his special possession, one that rivaled his books.

"You're taking my good map?" he asked, hoping that it wasn't true.

To his horror, Sasuke nodded. "Mine is outdated and shows only Suna and Konoha. I would like to borrow it if you don't mine."

Kakashi did mine, but once again he found himself unable to say no. He waved the king off. The map was stuffed uncaringly into Sasuke's pocket which made Kakashi cringe thinking about how it was going to be wrinkled instead of silky smooth like a new piece of paper. The king gave the silver-haired man a tiny smirk and headed out the door to meet with his friends. The door behind him accidently slammed shut causing the papers on Kakashi's desk to fly around him. It was the second time this week that something like this had happened. He collected all the papers again, separating his work from the stack that Anko had brought him. Finding the latest piece of paper he was working on, Kakashi began to read and scribble his name in all the right places.

Immediately after Sasuke walked out of Kakashi's door, he was grabbed by the arm. Whisking around, he found it to be Sakura standing right next to him. He hadn't seen her standing next to the doorway and she caught him by surprise. She looped her arm around his and motioned him to walk with her. Before he knew it, his feet were walking in sync with hers. She did not look up at him and remained quiet as they walked.

Being a foot shorter than he was, Sasuke found himself looking at her hair. It seemed to glow in the light and looked so soft that he had to restrain himself from touching it. There was a tug on his sleeve and he brought his stare down to her face. She was looking at him now, with her emerald eyes that had begun to mesmerize him. Her lips were moving, but Sasuke didn't hear a thing. He was thinking about how he was still mad at her for hitting him with an arrow and persuading him to not go on his journey alone.

"Sasuke," he could finally make out, breaking free from his own trance.

"Yes, Sakura," he said.

"Did you hear a single thing I just said?" she asked hotly.

He wanted to say yes, but he didn't want to lie to her. "Pardon?"

Her face turned smug and he could sense her irritation.

"You need to work on your listening skills," she began. "I was wondering if I could ask someone to come along with us."

"Sakura, you're pushing it," Sasuke replied. "You told me to bring some people with me when I didn't want to and I asked a small group to come along."

She placed her head on his shoulders as they continued to walk around the castle. The grip around his arm became tighter, which led Sasuke to believe that she was trying to once again make him let her have what she wanted. The sad thing was that it was working.

"Think about it Sasuke," she said, sighing. "I'm guessing that it will take a while to get to Otoga, about a week maybe. I'm surrounded by four men with no one to talk to."

"What do you mean no one to talk to? You know all four of us," Sasuke stated, halting at the grand staircase.

"I want to talk about girly stuff, Sasuke," Sakura explained.

The king's mouth made an "o" shape and he nodded. He could see why she would want this now. The only problem was who was it going to be? Tenten just had a baby and Hinata was not an excellent fighter, that and probably Neji and Naruto would have something against it. Sakura knew this, so who did she have in mind?

"Fine, you can ask someone," he told her, finally giving in.

"Thank you," she said, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek.

She released his arm and began up the stairs. Sasuke's hand rested on his cheek where she pecked him. Confused since he thought she was mad at him, Sasuke fought down a blush and called up to her.

"So who is it that you're asking anyway?"

Sakura knocked on an old wooden door and waited patiently for a reply. She heard someone yelled, "We're open, come right in!" and proceeded inside. She came to a counter where someone familiar had occupied the other side. Sakura was in Tsunade's healing shop and right in front of her was Ino. The blond was reading what looked to be a text book, flipping the pages roughly. She blew her hair out of her face, not once looking to see who entered the shop.

"Reading a book Pig?" Sakura asked loudly. "Why, how unlike you."

"Oh whatever, Tsunade's going to give me an exam tomorrow," Ino explained. "And I would like to be ready for…"

When she finally recognized Sakura's voice, Ino ran around the counter to hug her friend. The two laughed as they embraced. Ino parted first, hold Sakura at a distance. She evaluated the rosette, looking at her from top to bottom.

"Your outfit is so pretty!" Ino exclaimed. "And expensive too! He bought it for you, I bet."

Sakura glanced briefly at the traveling ensemble she was wearing. It was the same dark blue one she had worn to Suna only adding black gloves to it. She had tied her hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She gave Ino a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, he did," she said, finding herself twiddling her fingers like Hinata. "You could have an outfit like this too if you come with me."

Ino only looked at her like she was crazy. She flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and put her hands on her hips.

"What do you mean Sakura?" Ino asked, raising a brow. "If you're bribing me with clothes then I want to know why."

Sakura gave her a toothy grin. "Ino, how would you like to go on a little adventure?"

Author's Note: I know that I said in the previous chapter that since it was summer I would update a lot more. Well, I think you can all tell that that turned out to be a huge lie. I'm really sorry guys, REALLY sorry. Anyway, I think that the title is appropriate, don't you think? Please review and give me some feedback (which would be appreciated). Oh, can any of you draw? If so I would love to see some of your work. :)