Sakura held Naruto tightly. She didn't want to let him go. She was so happy to see him, she cried on his shoulder. Like the others, he looked weary. When she finally let him go, she turned around and faced Sasuke who was standing in the corner with four ANBU guards standing all around him. He had a chain around his neck that connected to his hands and his feet and around his body. It was a special thick chain link that absorbed Chakra, keeping its prisoner from escaping.

Sasuke's clothes were torn; his hair had a mixture of mud and blood. He kept his eyes closed, not looking at Sakura as she eyed him with hate and fear in her jade-colored eyes. Naruto stood back as he watched her walk up to Jounin. Sakura kept eyeing him, she took a deep breath as she suddenly brought her arm back and then…

She couldn't move. She looked up and saw that the Hokage had a strong hold of her arm. He shook his head slowly, as if telling her that it wasn't necessary. Sakura sighed and moved away from Sasuke. Then she spoke, her voice quivering.

"Does it bring you joy in knowing that you tried to destroy this village? The same village that you had grown up in? Does it make you happy in knowing that you wanted to kill the very people that were in your team years ago? The ones who at one time protected you?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and stared straight into hers. He smirked. "This village is nothing to me now. I learned what I needed to learn, but I still had my main objective. When that was done, I wanted to keep my power, I couldn't be weak."

Sakura's eyes widened, she wanted to jump on it and slap him. She wanted to make sense. She wanted him to come to those senses. He wasn't always like that. He used to care about his team. He used to care about the people. In his own way, he used to care. Why did this happen to him? But she knew the answer to that. Orochimaru and his sick, twisted ways of persuasion had tainted Sasuke's heart, and it might never be saved.

Naruto walked Sakura out of the room as the ANBU guards escorted the felon through the tunnel to a holding cell.

"I'm so glad you're home. I was worried. I missed you so much." Sakura went for another hug.

"I missed you, too."

"Ino and Hinata must be happy now that Shikamaru and Kiba are, too, huh?"

"…"

"Naruto. Naruto, what is it?"

"Shikamaru didn't come back with us."

Naruto and Sakura sat down in his office and he explained the details of what went on during the mission.

Sakura looked into Naruto's eyes. "I'll tell her. She's my friend, and she's going to need one."

....Later that day....

Ino tried to keep herself busy, cleaning the house, running errands, cooking, anything she could find. Hinata and Kiba were out meeting with Tsunade so that he could give his report of the mission. Before they left, Ino asked Kiba about Shikamaru. He just looked at her with a sad expression. He couldn't tell her anything without first consulting with the Hokages with his report. She only sighed and locked herself in her room.

After Ino was done putting away the clean dishes, she heard a knock on her door. It was Sakura. "Sakura, what a surprise. What are you doing here?" She was standing there with a look on her face that told her she had bad news. "Oh no, Naruto didn't come home either, did he?"

"No, he came home."

"Then why the look?"

"Ino, there's something I have to tell you, something you should know."

Ino felt herself stop breathing. This is it. The news I didn't want to hear. She mentally tried to prepared herself for whatever was to come next. She closed her eyes, turned around and walked into the kitchen. Sakura closed the door, and followed her friend. Ino took a cup out of the cabinet and began filling it with water. "Do you want something to drink, Sakura? I made some cake earlier, came out pretty good, I think. Do you want to try a piece?"

"No, thank you. Ino, please sit down."

"I'm okay." Ino finished her glass of water. She then grabbed a plate, and served herself a piece of cake. "Tell me what it is."

Sakura sighed as she searched in her mind for the right words to say. "Shikamaru… Shikamaru went missing."

"Missing?" Ino looked at her confused. She grabbed a fork from the sink and rinsed it.

"Naruto told me that they had encountered some hard battles before getting to Sasuke. They each got wounded, but they were able to defeat the Sound ninjas. They finally found where Sasuke and Orochimaru was hiding and…"

"Sakura, get to the point."

"While Naruto and Sasuke were fighting, so were Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and Lee. Shikamaru went after a ninja, when he caught up to him, it wasn't the usual Sound ninja they've been fighting. It was Orochimaru. He wounded him, and took him. The rest of the team can't find him, and Sasuke won't talk. No one knows where he could be. They spent several weeks looking for him."

Ino dropped her fork, and sat down on her chair. Can't breathe. Shikamaru. Missing. Orochimaru. Sasuke. Wounded. Can't breathe. Breathe. Breathe damn it! There were so many things running through her mind at once. She was having a hard time taking in the news.

"Ino…I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? What's going to happen? What's Naruto going to do?"

"I don't know. He already reported him as a missing ninja. I don't know what's going to happen after that."

Ino looked to Sakura, grabbed her wrist, and ran out the door, leaving the cake untouched. "Tell me where Sasuke is, now!"

"Ino!"

"Tell me! I want to see him right now!"

.....

Ino knew she wasn't going to be able to get to see Sasuke without one of the Hokages present. She looked to Sakura, who was standing behind her. Naruto. She burst through Naruto's office doors and ran up to his desk. Shino, Neji, and Lee were standing there with a shocked look on their faces. "Take me to him."

Naruto sighed. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. You have that power. You are one of the Hokages. Don't tell me you can't." Ino's fist pounded his desk. One by one, the three guys left the room silently, leaving only Naruto, an angry Ino, and a scared Sakura.

"Ino. It won't help. He won't tell us anything."

"I don't care. I want to hear it from him. Take me to him right now!" Ino demanded.

A few moments later, Naruto nodded. He stood up, took Ino by the arm and walked her outside. He looked at Sakura as they passed, giving her a reassuring look. They reached a door on the other side of the building. Naruto unlocked the door, and it revealed a dark tunnel with faintly, dim lights. They walked a mile inside, and reached a few barred doors. "You won't be able to use your Chakra here, and you won't be able to be in the same room with him. You can only speak to him from outside the cell." As they walked a few minutes longer, Ino spotted Sasuke sitting on a bench in a small cell. Naruto left her with Sasuke, but he stayed close, just in case one tried to hurt the other.

"Sasuke…"

Here's a nice long chapter for you guys. Trying to keep things interesting. Read, review, let me know what you think, and what I can change. Love ya!