Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but if I did it wouldn't have useless flashbacks about what happened three pages ago. :/ And Sakura would be with Sasuke and he would come back to the village! :D

A/N: Yay! Chapter 9! :D Please tell me what you think by reviewing! I'm really sorry for not being able to update sooner. I mostly have time only to write on the weekends now because of school. :( I WANT IT TO BE SUMMER BREAK AGAIN! :'( Anyway, enjoy! :)

Chapter 9: The Rescue

Warmth surrounded her body. She felt something constricting around her wounded arm. Her senses were returning to her slowly. She heard something crackling next to her and smelt smoke. The pinkette slowly opened her jade eyes and turned over to the source of warmth. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

A brilliant, bright fire was burning next to her as she lay. A small bowl of tomato soup was by her head. Tadashi was next to the bowl of soup and stared at her with contemplating eyes. She looked farther into his eyes and noticed he had a pair of Sharingan for eyes.

Her emerald eyes were fully widened and awake now. "What the hell? Wait, are you-" She said slowly as she sat up and lifted her hand towards Tadashi. "Sasuke?" She whispered aghast.

Tadashi's Sharingan eyes slightly widened, and then he tilted his head at her.

"That would explain how you've been leading me around and acting like him. Wait, but why would he lead me around? Let alone save my life from that thug? I'm the enemy, and his old annoying teammate." She sighed and tears filled her eyes.

She brought her hand up to her face to wipe away her tears. Tadashi flew up and landed on her wrist. Her bright, emerald eyes gazed at him bewildered. He stared at her with sad eyes and lifted his wing to her face. He wiped away her tears gently with the edges of his wing. His eyes soften when he looked into her beautiful, shocked eyes.

Sakura's looked at him disbelieving, and then slowly began to smile and giggle at him. "Thanks Tadashi…or Sasuke." She winked.

He stared blankly at her with fixated eyes.

"All you're missing is the 'Hn'." She laughed and placed her wrist on the ground for him to hop off.

"Thank you for fending off that thug earlier, Tadashi. If you weren't there I would have been dead. And if it wasn't for Sasuke, I defiantly would have died of blood lost. At least, I think it was Sasuke's shoulder you were on. I have a feeling it was." She smiled and placed her hand on her stomach as it growled.

"Whoever did this for me, I owe them my life." She said as she picked up the bowl of tomato soup.

Tadashi stared at her contently, as she did the same.

"Come here Tadashi, you need some food too." She said happily and placed the bowl on the ground.

Tadashi backed away from the bowl.

"Please Tadashi, for me?" She asked sweetly.

Tadashi slowly moved towards the bowl and took a small sip.

Sakura sighed. "You're doing this so I don't feel hungry later, aren't you?"

The crow continued to stare at her.

"Fine." She sighed and took a spoonful of soup into her mouth.

Her eyes widened in delight. "It's delicious!" She said amazed and continued eating swiftly.

Tadashi stared at her contently as she ate. Once she was done, she placed the empty bowl to the side and sighed. She turned to her bandaged arm and stared at it. The pinkette slowly untied the gauze on her arm. She looked at her deep wound and sighed.

The muscles were torn deeply and dark, dried blood was all around it. She placed her hand above the wound with her green chakra emitting from it. She pressed her hand on the wound and began healing the torn tissue. She lifted her arm after a few seconds and gazed at her healed arm. There was still a scar from where the kunai went in, but other than that it looked like nothing happened. She turned her attention to the sky and saw it was about 4pm.

She sighed and slowly got up. "Let's go Tadashi, we wasted enough time."

Tadashi flew on her shoulder and she smiled. She picked up her mask and tied it on. She reached over into her backpack and put out the fire with her water bottle. The pinkette washed the dishes lazily and placed them in her backpack.

Once she was ready, she headed towards the valley up ahead.

xXx

"It didn't seem that far earlier!" She whined. "I feel like I've been seeing the same trees over and over again!"

She stopped and froze at her last sentence. The pinkette took out a kunai and flung it at the object whistling towards her. A smoke bomb exploded and she quickly jumped up to the tree above her. Shuriken were thrown at her through the fog and she countered back with her own shuriken.

Tadashi squawked, and she looked over to see a man jump on the branch through the fog.

"Hey, you're a long way from home aren't ya?" He smirked and took out an amethyst katana handle from its sheath at his waist. Blue lightning was crackling from it.

He appeared in his early twenties and had long, dark brown hair tied in a high ponytail. He had dark blue eyes, and wore a torn, blood smeared, Anbu uniform with no vest. He didn't have a mask either.

She gazed at the katana aghast and quickly jumped up to the next branch to miss the swing. The katana hit the trunk of the tree and made a gash almost halfway through it. The tree wobbled and shook for a moment before it went back to normal.

"Oh no, you don't!" The man smirked and forced the katana straight down through the branch he was on.

Sakura looked down and saw blue lightning erupting everywhere around the man. She heard crackling all around her, and then felt electricity go through the soles of her feet.

"Shit!" She screeched and tried to jump off the electrified branch but realized she was paralyzed.

The man laughed below her as he removed the sword and jumped up to her. "Now I got you!" He said madly.

Sakura closed her eyes and sent her chakra all throughout her body as fast as she could. She opened her emerald eyes and smirked once she was done. Blue chakra emitted from her fist, and she punched the man in the face when he was within inches from her.

He shot to the ground like a rocket and tumbled until he stopped and hit his back against a rock. Blood cascaded down his chin and he gasped trying to regain his breath. He then smirked up at her.

"What, wait, how can you still be a-alive?" She said flabbergasted.

He chuckled. "I wasn't named Takamaru's right hand man for nothing." He smirked.

Anger went through Sakura's veins as she tightened her fist. "Where is he?" She said through gritted teeth.

The man smirked again. "And why should I tell you? So you can assassinate my boss? What's a little girl like you gonna do about it if I don't, huh? " He laughed and coughed up blood.

"I'm going to kill you!" Sakura screamed as she ran towards him with her fist in the air.

The man used his sword to guard, and the force of Sakura's punch made him go through the rock and stop against a tree twenty-five feet away.

Sakura was fuming with anger and breathing heavily from the strength she used.

"Well I guess you do have some strength, huh?" He chuckled and slowly got up.

Sakura gritted her teeth and blue chakra glowed from her fist again.

"I'll give you a hint, his hideout is close by from here." He smirked as he wiped his chin and brushed himself off. "I mean, why else would you be trapped in a genjutsu and can't move closer to the valley up ahead?" He raised his arms and chuckled.

"So you're saying his hideout is in the valley?" Sakura said fuming.

"Hmm, maybe." He said teasingly and snickered.

Sakura lunged at him with her fist ready. He ran away from her towards the valley.

Sakura's eyes filled with rage. "No you don't!" She yelled and punched the ground with her fist.

The ground shook madly as it split in half running towards the man. Trees fell down as the fissure split them in half. The man continued running through the foliage with the quake on his tail until it stopped.

"Damn it!" Sakura cursed and ran after him evading the falling trees.

Tadashi flew after her as fast as he could. He started screeching loudly to make her stop, but she ignored him.

Every step she took made him move farther and farther away from her. The valley appeared as if it was up ahead. She saw him turn around and smirked at her with his index and middle finger together making the 'release' hand sign. Her eyes widened realizing she was still in the genjutsu.

"RELEASE!" The man shouted, laughing.

The ground beneath her feet slowly evaporated away. She looked down, and panic went through her veins as her emerald eyes widened fully.

She was running on air, above the gorge of the valley.

Her heart felt like it stopped as she slowly freefell into the giant abyss. She screamed her lungs out creating echoes throughout the forest. Around her everything seemed to be moving slowly. The only thing she could hear was the blood pounding in her ears.

She looked up into the sky, and saw the man riding a giant hawk straight down to the bottom of the valley. He passed her and smirked at his victory.

Sakura looked up and saw Tadashi flying above the valley towards her screeching madly. She smiled at him gently. "Thank you, Tadashi." She whispered as she closed her eyes and a tear slid out.

"SAKURA!"

The panic sounding scream echoed all around her as she continued to fall.

She opened her tearstained eyes and gasped. "S-Sa-Sasuke?" She began to cry more at the thought of him.

She was more than halfway to the bottom now. The echoing scream was dying away but could still be heard.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, I failed you. I guess you win, Sasuke." She whispered as more tears fell down and she closed her eyes.

She felt a gust of wind and a bird screech above her. She quickly opened her eyes and saw something black flying in the sky blocking the sun from her eyes. It soared straight down the gorge with a rider standing on its back. Sakura examined the bird more and realized she's seen it before.

The giant bird flew as fast it could to her with the rider's arms wide open, ready to catch her. She squinted trying to look at the rider's face, but couldn't with the sun shining in her eyes.

The rider caught her in his arms and she looked up at him with gigantic eyes.

"N-no w-w-way, h-how c-could you b-be here?" She asked aghast as he looked down at her with irritation in his black eyes.

The giant bird flapped its wings straight up to soften the landing on the bottom of the abyss. The black haired man jumped off the bird with Sakura still in his arms. He put Sakura down and her legs gave out causing her to fall toward the ground. He caught her by the wrist and kept her steady from falling.

"How can someone from Anbu Black Ops forget they were in a genjutsu, let alone not even try to release it, Sakura?" The black haired man said disapprovingly as he let go of her wrist and took of her mask.

Sakura's mouth opened ajar and her eyes popped out from those words. "W-w-wait, h-how d-did y-you k-know I'm in t-the A-Anbu, S-Sai?" Sakura asked bewildered as her legs started to tremble.

She stopped trembling once Tadashi landed softly on her shoulder. She looked at him amazed and smiled. "You were very brave Tadashi, thank you."

Tadashi's Sharingan eyes soften as he gazed at her unscathed face.

Sai scratched the giant bird's head as he stared blankly at her and ignored Tadashi. "Well, no one else has pink hair, Sakura. So it's kind of obvious when you're not wearing anything with a hood on, like now for example." He said blankly causing her to sigh from his bluntness and look at her pink hair.

"And two, before Lady Tsunade had her massive tantrum the other day, I was in her office giving her my mission report. I noticed a scroll on her desk with your profile and you were listed under the Anbu." He paused and watched her as she fidgeted looking at the ground. "Above your name was 'Top-Secret' and I noticed Sasuke was also on the scroll for the same mission." He narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at his last sentence.

Tadashi's Sharingan eyes widened for a second catching Sai's attention.

Sakura looked up at him even more shocked than she was before and turned pale.

Sai stared at Tadashi and then frowned; he then looked back to Sakura. "You didn't read the scroll Lady Tsunade gave you, did you?" He asked blankly as he moved away from the giant bird towards her.

The pinkette stared at him wide-eyed. "Um, no I didn't." She whispered as she looked towards the ground.

Sai continued to stare as he crossed his arms. "What kind of ninja doesn't read the mission details before going on the mission? I guess I was right when I found you at Ichiraku the other night." He sighed and tilted his head as stared at the ground.

Sakura looked up. "Wait, what do you mean you were right the other night? What don't I know?" She asked concerned.

Sai looked up and stared at her for a few moments. "All those questions can be answered if you read your scroll. Do you have it with you at least?"

"Why can't you just tell me now?" Sakura asked with her eyes narrowed and her temper rising.

Sai sighed. "It's better if you found out yourself." He said with sunken eyes averting her gaze.

Sakura's mouth opened ajar as she stared at him confused. She reached over and placed her backpack on the ground and started rummaging through it. Sai looked over at her with his arms folded.

"Damn it! I left the scroll on my nightstand at home!" She said angrily as she shoved the items back into their proper place.

She looked up at Sai. "Can you at least tell me why you followed me?" She asked questionably and stood up.

Sai stared at her for a few moments and then sighed in defeat. "I followed you to protect you from Sasuke." He said with sadness in his eyes.

Tadashi's glared at Sai and he glared right back; now knowing fully well why the bird has Sharingan eyes.

Sakura looked at Sai confused with concern in her eyes. "Why would you need to protect me from S-Sasuke?" She fidgeted as she said his name.

Sai looked at her blankly. "An S-Rank international rogue ninja is on the same 'mission' as you." He said with hidden anger in his voice as he looked at Tadashi.

"I followed you, because I was concerned for you when I read part of your mission details. I thought comrades were supposed to look out for one another, at least that's what Naruto says." He smiled slightly with concern in his eyes.

Sakura gently smiled back.

"Wait, Naruto doesn't know I'm in the Anbu right?" She asked in a panic.

"Not unless you told him, speaking of which, why didn't you tell us you were in the Anbu?" He asked with his eyes narrowed and arms folded.

Sakura fidgeted. "W-well, I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want you to worry about me anymore." She said as she looked at the ground.

"I can understand why you didn't tell Naruto, but why not me? I'm in the Anbu too you know. And how come you're in the Anbu? You're a chunin with your own team to look after." He said with questioning eyes as he tilted his head slightly.

Sakura slowly looked up at Sai and stared at him for words to explain. "I didn't want anyone but Lady Tsunade to know. I knew if I told Naruto, he would want to know why and it would be a disaster. I didn't want to keep it a secret from everyone but Naruto, so I didn't tell anyone." She paused and looked into Sai's blank face. "And, Tsunade requested me to join so I could look for Sasuke." She whispered almost inaudibly, as she kicked her foot in the ground and stared at it.

Sai's eyes shot up in disbelief at Sakura. "I understand you and Naruto still have faith in him Sakura, but he escaped under Anbu surveillance. He didn't want to stay in the village, which means you don't go and try to 'rescue' him, again." He said with his eyes narrowed angrily at Tadashi and the pinkette.

Sakura's head shot up and she glared at him. "You don't understand, I don't believe Sasuke is like that anymore! I think he's changed! Besides, you don't even know him!" She shouted at him.

Tadashi eyes softened at her kind words.

"I know he has tried to kill my comrades multiple times in the past. If he has changed, than why hasn't he returned to the village?" He said with his arms folded and glared at her, and then to Tadashi.

Sakura and Tadashi glared at him back, while Tadashi's was more menacing. "Have you been following me?" She decided to change the subject as she folded her arms and put her weight on one leg.

Sai looked at her dumbfounded. "N-n-no." He said as he avoided eye contact with her and looked to the side.

"So it was you who killed that thug earlier and bandaged my arm? And you were the one who started my fire for me the other night?" Sakura said in disbelief as she raised an eyebrow.

Sai looked at her confused with an eyebrow of his own raised. "What are you talking about? I didn't do any of that." He said as he tilted his head to the side slightly and folded his arms.

Sakura stared at him in shock. "Wait; if you didn't do any of that, than did you see who did?" She said concerned.

"I've been following you every now and then to check up on you. I saved you just now, because I heard your scream in the forest and I flew here as fast as I could. I didn't know you were hurt before, so I don't know who helped you. But whoever did is bad news." He said blankly and stared at her shocked face.

"What makes you say that? I'm gratefully to them, they saved my life!" She said angrily and tightened her fist.

Sai sighed and looked into her eyes. "You don't understand, if you read your mission details-"

"ARGH! Why won't you just tell me what-"

She stopped and turned her head to what sounded like a scream of rage.

Her eyes widened recognizing that scream anywhere. "S-Sa-Sasuke?" She whispered breathless.

The pinkette started running as fast as she could to the source with Tadashi.

Sai swung his leg over on to the giant bird. He looked down and saw she forgot her Anbu mask. He stared at the pink figure until it was out of sight. "The village is counting on you, Sakura. You're the only one who can handle this mission. Please, don't do anything reckless." He sighed and the bird flapped its giant wings towards the sky.

A/N: I can't wait to write the next chapter! XD I wrote an outline for it and I LOVE it! :) By the way, this is a SASUSAKU fanfiction! It's not SaiSaku just so you know! The reason Sai showed up was not because he loves her that way, but he thinks of her as a sister and was concerned. You'll find out why Sasuke wasn't able to save her in the next chapter! Also, there will be some SasuSaku soon so be patient! ;) It's what we've all been waiting for! XD Tell me what you thought of the chapter by reviewing please! :D