Pressing his lips against hers, Sasuke held his ground waiting for a reaction.

Releasing a shocked squeak, Sakura quickly got over her surprise and responded eagerly. The two kissed each other with such fervor and passion that, momentarily, they seemed to forget their location—thirty feet in the air. Almost stumbling over the edge of the thick bough of the tree, Sasuke grabbed Sakura around the waist, steadying her, before pulling her against him and crashing his lips against hers once more.

They kissed with the all the pent-up emotion and passion they'd built up over the years, all of it pouring out at once. Their emotions collided together in a frenzy; both of them held the other close, exploring each other with wandering hands, unable to get enough of one another.

They'd soon come to realize, that after that night, they'd never get enough of one another. No matter how many more nights they'd spend together deep in the forest, under the cover of the trees and light of the moon, their bodies joining together in synchronized passion. They would always want more.

Sasuke and Sakura spent the next five days training, eating meals together, and preparing for war together. They spent nights together in the forest, reminiscing on old times, talking about their pasts and catching each other up on the last four years of their lives. They started each night out with conversation, which would eventually lead to kissing, then to sex, and then ending once more in conversation. Afterward, they'd lie together in the cool grass, letting the conversation die down as they took comfort in each other's company, ending each night in comfortable silence. They'd return to the base in the early hours of the morning.

They talked about everything and anything.

Everything, except their forthcoming separation.

Neither wanted to think or speak about the fact that they'd never see each other again. So they didn't.

And when it came time, almost three weeks later, for Sasuke to make his departure, there were no dramatic or prolonged goodbyes. There were actually no goodbyes at all. Sasuke was deemed healed of all of his injuries that he'd sustained in battle and was therefore discharged from the hospital. Sakura, who'd been immediately sent to a base dozens of miles away in order to help the other war victims, had been too busy to even stop by and check on his condition. When she finally returned, she was only met with the frowns of her fellow medic-nin, as they informed her of his discharge, three days prior.

He left behind no note. No memento for Sakura to have. He left her with nothing but the memories and experiences they'd shared together.

Or at least.

So he'd thought.

With the conscious world slowly crawling back to him, Sasuke did not know where he was, or what had happened as he awakened. Opening his eyes, he reclosed them immediately as the bright lights of the room hurt his eyes. Peering through partially opened eyelids at his surroundings, he found himself in a bare room.

Lifting himself with his arms, he couldn't hold back the groan of pain he released. Seconds after the sound escaped, a head peeked into the doorway and looked at him with wide, pale eyes.

"You're awake!" she said, seemingly shocked at his conscious form. Sasuke looked back at her, studying the face he hadn't seen since the war. Hyuuga Hinata stood in the doorway for a moment, stunned, before collecting herself and walking up to his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

Sasuke had never particularly liked Hinata, although he had never found himself disliking her either, which he couldn't say for a majority of his old classmates. She'd been quiet and hardly ever spoke to him at all. The last time he'd seen her had been when he'd left the hospital after the war was over. She'd nervously asked him if he wanted her to pass on a message to Sakura, but he said nothing to her, walking past her and towards the exit.

Her hair was slightly shorter, he thought, but just as dark as ever. But she looked the same for the most part; older by a few years of course, but no considerable changes. Her byakugan had always been her most distinguishing characteristic, followed closely by her soft-spoken voice.

Sasuke did not reply to her question as he studied his condition. Lifting his hand to his head, his fingertips brushed against the bandages which were currently wrapped securely across his forehead. Then, trying to adjust his positioning once more, he shifted himself into a more upright position, wincing at the sharp pain in his chest.

"Careful!" the woman squeaked timidly, holding her arms out to him, "Here let me—"

"I'm fine," he insisted in a rough, scratchy voice, declining her assistance. Upon further inspection, he noted how his chest was also thoroughly bandaged.

"You were very lucky," Hinata said quietly as she noted his observation of his bandaged torso. "The blade just barely missed your spine."

He had to repress a slight shudder at her words. In fighting his opponent for hardly 5 minutes, Sasuke had almost managed to paralyze himself with his own carelessness.

Looking at the window to his right, Sasuke could only assume he was in the hospital in Konoha. The sky was dark, the blackness of the night swallowing the village whole. How long had he been unconscious? A few hours? A few days?

"Where's Naruto?" he asked turning his head back to meet her worried gaze. "Where's—"

The lump that appeared in his throat at the thought of Katahana stopped his speech immediately. His hands at his sides clenched and unclenched, his eyes facing down slightly, staring at the end of his hospital bed. Trying to stop his thoughts from running rampant, he shook his head and looked at Hinata again.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked again demandingly causing Hinata to flinch back at his words.

"I'm right here."

His head shooting towards the doorway, he spotted Naruto slowly entering the room, a toddler perched on his hip. Naruto met his gaze with a serious expression of his own before turning to Hinata and smiling gently.

Sasuke watched as the dark-haired child reached toward the timid woman, and with a tiny giggle wrapped its chubby arms around her neck as Naruto passed the child off to her. Making a blubbering noise, the child pressed its face into Hinata's shoulder before turning its head toward Sasuke.

A tiny pair of byakugan stared back at him curiously. The child pointed a chubby finger at Sasuke before turning to Naruto and babbling some incoherent nonsense.

"That's Sasuke," Naruto told the small boy with a smile. "He's an old friend."

Completely ignoring Naruto's casual use of the word 'friend', all Sasuke could honestly wonder was how on Earth Naruto knew what that child had been saying, with its incomprehensible baby mumbling.

"I'll see you guys in a little bit," Naruto said before leaning forward and giving Hinata a quick peck on the lips. The woman smiled back brightly and with the child now in her arms walked toward the doorway, quietly telling the child to 'say bye to Daddy'. The child merely giggled and waved both of his chubby hands toward the two men before Hinata walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Sasuke was relieved when the woman finally left with the child, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the sight of familial affection before him. "You've got a kid," he deadpanned, still trying to wrap his head around the thought of Naruto being a father.

Naruto turned toward him, grinning brightly. "That's Kenji. He'll be two this December." He grabbed a chair out of the corner of the room and dragged it behind him, sitting himself at Sasuke's side.

"Hinata?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, an eyebrow raised. He hadn't seen that one coming. But for all he knew, the two could have been together even back during the war; Sasuke hadn't paid close enough attention to the girl, and he'd hardly seen the two together.

Naruto kept his grin, blushing slightly and scratching the back of his head. "We've been married almost 3 years now." Sasuke merely nodded before turning his head back toward the window.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke after a couple minutes of silence. He sighed, "I take it you have some questions?"

The Uchiha ignored him, his fists grasping the sheets below him tightly, his jaw clenched. Still gazing out the window he almost laughed as he noted the ANBU member perched in a tree slightly off in the distance, watching him through the dark of night. A sense of déjà vu washed over him.

"Where's Katahana?" he asked, eyes still trained on the window.

"She's on the floor below this one, in the children's ward." He explained, his expression serious. "She's not hurt," he said quickly after Sasuke turned his gaze toward him and glared, "we're just holding her there for now."

"Tell me," Sasuke commanded, trying to hide the shaking of his voice, "is she—is she my…"

Naruto nodded once, "She's your daughter."

Hearing it spoken out loud made Sasuke's head spin. Since he'd placed the pieces together out in the woods before losing consciousness, he was still skeptical. Some part of his mind insisted to him that there was some coincidence or misunderstanding or just something that wouldn't end with him being the father to a child he didn't know existed in the first place.

"Does she," he paused, clearing his throat which was suddenly tight, "does she know who I am?"

"No," he shook his head. "She's never been told about you. She's actually only recently started asking about who her father was; I'd say she first asked about a year ago," he thought back, scratching his chin slightly. "Sakura always handled it well though, so we haven't had to explain anything yet."

His thoughts were out-of-control, chaotic and messy, spinning, but ultimately centered on this child. His child. Then his mind starting putting the pieces together about another situation…

"Sakura. She's still missing isn't she?"

Naruto nodded grimly, "Yes. Shikamaru had told me he'd contacted you about it. To be honest we were really hoping you would know," he sighed. "You were basically our last shot."

"How long?"

"It's been almost a month since we heard from her last. We hadn't known where either of them was for the longest time. They were scheduled to stop by and take refuge for a few months in the Village Hidden in the Sand; Gaara offered his assistance. But when we didn't hear anything, we'd started to fear the worst…" Naruto shook his head before looking Sasuke in the eye. "We had no idea that of all people to come across, Hana would come across you. Shikamaru told me that you were attempting to cross the border and that you had a missing Konoha child with you," he let out a grim laugh, "but for some reason none of us figured it'd be her."

"That man, the one in the white." Sasuke's muscled clenched in anger, "Who is he?"

"Masaru," Naruto said with malice, frustration taking hold. "He's been after Hana for quite some time. I've only ever encountered him a few times, but he's infuriatingly difficult to battle, and even harder to track."

"Is it some sort of teleportation jutsu?"

"I don't know. Shikamaru doubts it, and I trust his judgment. We're pretty sure it's something entirely different." He sighed, "We just don't know yet."

"He's after the sharingan," he said grimly, "isn't he?"

"Yes. Somehow word has spread over the past few years that there'd been another Uchiha. And I guess with your disappearance some people figured they'd take a stab at trying to obtain it."

Sasuke's blood boiled as he listened to Naruto talk. These idiots thought they could simply take the sharingan from an Uchiha?

"Do they have a death wish?"

"They must," Naruto said, understanding Sasuke's fury. "There'd been a few people here and there that weren't much of a threat to us, but in the past few months, things have gotten worse. That's when Masaru first made an appearance."

"He was the seventh person in less than two days that I'd stumbled upon who knew who she was," Sasuke said angrily. "Just how many of them are there out there!?"

"A lot," Naruto said sadly, "Masaru has an entire network of people working under him. They do most of the dirty work."

Sasuke hadn't realized that he was shaking with fury until Naruto put a firm hand on his shoulder. Glaring at the young Hokage, Sasuke brushed his hand off of him before placing a hand on his forehead, as if he could physically get his thoughts and emotions to steady themselves. He had a daughter. A seven-year old daughter who was being hunted by a man who wanted her eyes. His daughter, who didn't know who he was, or even who she was.

"She doesn't know why she'd being attacked." It wasn't a question. Sasuke looked back up at Naruto, eyes narrowing. "She told me herself. Why didn't you tell her?"

"We knew that it would lead to more questions and more trouble—"

"So you hid the truth from her?"

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke in a loud, firm voice, trying to calm down Sasuke, who he could see was growing increasingly irritated. "Sakura tried to do what she thought was best for her," he explained. "The past 8 years have been hard on her. She's been doing the best she can."

To that, Sasuke's mouth closed tightly, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

"That man. Masaru. He must have been the one who attacked Sakura and Katahana."

"What makes you so sure?"

"He told me himself," he confessed in a dull voice. "About how he didn't want to 'orphan another child' and how Sakura had 'put up much more of a fight' than I had," he said bleakly.

Naruto quickly covered his shock with a pensive face. "Well, we've been asking Hana various questions over the course of the past couple days. So we'll have to pinpoint precisely where they were attacked and go from there."

Sasuke nodded absently, agreeing with Naruto's words. His thoughts were miles away; or more appropriately, a floor away.

"You can go see her you know?" the ex-missing-nin looked at his old teammate with an apprehensive face. "She's been asking about you." Sasuke couldn't reply verbally. All he could do was nod once and swallow the lump in his throat.

Sasuke didn't get nervous. It hadn't happened since he was a child. He was fearless and could take on any enemy regardless of the danger, without batting an eye. This though…

This was entirely different. He'd gone from being a misanthropic loner to being a father over the course of the week. He was still working to wrap his head around it all, but he found that he could hardly comprehend it all.

"You don't have to now, of course," he said quickly, as if sensing Sasuke's discomfort. "But if you decide to, she's in room 503."

"I'll go," Sasuke said, throwing his blanket off of himself. Shifting his weight he flung his feet over the side, wincing in pain. He held his hand up to keep Naruto at bay, "I'm fine," he stated through gritted teeth.

Naruto nodded before handing Sasuke a shirt, which he quickly put on over his head, despite the screaming protest from the pain in his abdomen. Then with a look of determination on his face, he stood up on bare, unsteady feet and looked at Naruto, who was standing cautiously beside him. "Take me there."

Sasuke stood at the door for what seemed like hours, staring at the tiny plate next to the doorframe, with a blue '503' etched into the metallic surface. Behind him, Naruto stood waiting patiently for Sasuke to open the door.

"Naruto," he said low, still facing the door, "does..."

The blonde-haired man waited for a long minute for Sasuke to continue, and when he failed to do so, he raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Does she prefer Katahana, or Hana?"

Naruto couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he addressed the back of his friend's head, "You can ask her yourself. Now," he pressed a hand firmly against Sasuke's back, urging him forward, "go introduce yourself to your daughter."

Attempting to swallow the lump in his throat that simply wouldn't go away, Sasuke placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. Opening the door a few inches, he paused, waiting to hear some sort of acknowledgement from inside. Peeking his head through the door, he looked into the room scanning it for any signs of the child.

It wasn't until he saw the pair of feet sticking out from beneath the hospital bed. Walking completely into the room, he turned and gave Naruto one last fleeting glance—to which he replied with a smile and eager thumbs up—before closing the door gently behind him. The 'click' of the doorknob being put back into place caused a small squeak from underneath the bed.

Katahana looked up at him from underneath the bed, and as she noticed who was standing before her, she let out a small cry before scrambling to her feet and running towards him.

Sasuke barely had time to say anything before she crashed into his chest, tiny arms wrapping around him, trapping him in a strong hug. Trying to suppress a groan, Sasuke stood his ground, determined to stay standing and conscious as the pain tore through him.

"Careful," he said, his voice strained. "I'm a little… sore."

Her tearful eyes looked up at him regretfully before she quickly released him and began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke I didn't mean to hurt you I'd forgotten that you were hurt there! I'm sorry I was just really really worried and wasn't thinking and—"

"Katahana," he said, leaning down slightly until he was almost at her eye level, "it's fine," he assured. "You can stop apologizing." She took in a deep breath before letting it out dramatically, swinging her arms at her side. He frowned, "Why were you under the bed?"

"I was hiding," she admitted, embarrassed. "I don't want them finding me anymore."

Sasuke suddenly found himself not knowing what he should say to the girl. Or how he should even approach the subject of him being her father.

He should have let Naruto do all of this for him.

"Let's… talk." He spoke with an uneasy voice, causing Katahana to gaze up at him, concerned.

"Okay," she mumbled quietly before moving toward her bed. Sitting at the top of it toward the pillows, she picked one up and hugged it tightly, watching him as he cautiously approached the bed and sat down.

Letting his apprehension get the best of him, he let out a long sigh, before taking a deep breath and turning toward her.

"Are you leaving?" she asked in a small voice, before he could even think to say anything.

"Leaving?"

"Yeah, as in, going somewhere and leaving me here."

Sasuke thought hard. He hadn't even thought that far ahead. At the present time all he'd been concerned about on their way to the village was getting her there safe and sound. Now that he was there, he didn't know what he'd do next.

"I… don't know," when her face fell into a sad, almost devastated-looking expression, he seemed to have known that was the wrong thing to say. "I mean, I don't know what I'll be doing, yet."

Her face did not brighten, but her sadness seemed to let up a bit. "Okay," she muttered in a small voice.

"Katahana, did your mother ever talk to you about your father?"

The small girl seemed to think for a few seconds, obviously not expecting that question to be asked. "Uh, not really. She would tell me that it wasn't time for me to know about him yet."

Sasuke frowned. "So you don't know anything about him?"

She began to shake her head, but stopped abruptly, "Well, I don't know what it has to do with anything. But a couple times, at the park, I've heard a few of the adults whispering about me," she frowned. "They'd always say the word 'Uchiha' and I never knew what that meant." She stretched her arms above her head and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "I asked my mom and Naruto-san and I even asked Ino-san!" she said, exasperated. "The only person who would tell me anything was Kakashi-san."

Sasuke wanted to scoff. Leave it to Kakashi to tell a child something that everybody else would try to keep a secret from her.

"He told me it was a very important name," she said matter-of-factly, "that not many people get to have. Which doesn't really make sense since my name is Haruno. But he told me that it was a good thing, and that I shouldn't worry about it!" She paused and looked at him with an inquisitive glance. "One of those bad men," she spoke quietly, "the ones who snuck into your house. They called you that, too, didn't they?"

"Uchiha is my name," he explained to the child. "Uchiha Sasuke." He hesitated, trying to form his next sentence as best as he could. "Uchiha is not your given name," he explained slowly, "but nevertheless, you are an Uchiha."

"Okay?" she said, her face scrunched up in confusion, clearly not understanding.

"Katahana," he took in a deep breath, "we share the same name, because we're related." She looked up at him with wide eyes, taken off guard. "I'm your father, Katahana."

He held his breath after the words left his mouth, hanging in the air. The words ricocheted around in his own head after he uttered them. I'm your father. Your father. I'm your father Katahana.

"You are?" she asked in a small, quiet voice. He nodded in reply. She hugged the pillow tightly, pulling at a loose string on the end of it. "Where did you meet mom?" Sasuke stared back at the child. He hadn't been expecting for that to be the first thing she asked him.

"Your mother and I were teammates back when we were children."

"With Naruto-san, right?"

"Right," he nodded, relieved that the conversation seemed to be going smoothly. "We were friends and then—" he paused, not knowing how to explain the situation to the child. Looking down at her, he knew he needed to be as vague as possible. "And then I left for a few years to… take care of some things. And then I met up with Naruto and your mother again and we… became… friends again," he said awkwardly, trying to sugarcoat the conversation as much as he was able to.

"But," as her upper lip started trembling, Sasuke already knew what she was going to ask, "why did you leave?"

"Before you were born," Sasuke paused, again searching for the correct words to use, "I was planning on moving away. So when your mother found out that she was going to have a baby, I was already moved far, far away."

"Oh," she whispered. "So, you didn't know I was born?"

"No," he conceded, "I didn't know you were my daughter until we got here."

Repeating his words in his head, Sasuke's frustration grew. Sakura had been pregnant with his child. She'd given birth to and raised his child. And he'd never once been notified.

Before he could allow any anger to surface, he tried reasoning with himself. Shikamaru himself had said that they had been searching for him for a while. Besides, even if they had found him and informed him of the situation, what would he have done then? Returned to the village?

The more he thought about it, the less uncertain his thoughts grew.

"So you're my dad?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"Can I…" her face flushed a soft pink color as she buried her head in the pillow and mumbled something.

"What?" he asked, unable to hear a single word she'd uttered.

"Is it okay if I… call you dad?"

Taken off guard, the lump in Sasuke's throat was more prominent than ever. His chest was tight with a confusing array of emotions and he couldn't bring himself to speak even a single word. Slowly, he nodded his head once.

"Okay," she nodded, trying to hide her steadily-growing grin behind the pillow she held in her arms. "So when you helped me and gave me food and stuff, you didn't know who I was?" He shook his head. "That's so crazy!" she giggled. "See, I knew I was going to meet you I knew it!" she giggled loudly, bouncing up and down excitedly on the mattress beneath her.

Suddenly, a quiet knock on the door brought Sasuke's attention away from the bouncing girl in front of him.

"Oh Hana," a voice called as the door slowly opened, "I have something for you!" opening the door, Yamanaka Ino stood, grinning, a tray full of food in her grasp. Upon seeing Sasuke though, she faltered, almost dropping the tray to the ground.

"Oh! Sasuke, I didn't know you were in here," with wide, shocked eyes she looked from him, to Katahana, and back again. "It's good to see you again."

"Ino-san Ino-san!" she child called, hopping off the bed and running over to the young woman. she grabbed hold of her shirt and pulled the woman after her. "Look! It's my dad! He's here!"

Ino looked at Sasuke with wide eyes, looking back down to Katahana, who stood grinning up at her. As she looked back at Sasuke, he closed his eyes and nodded once, confirming the shocking revelation. She knew.

Pulling a smile onto her face, Ino reached down and patted Katahana's head. "That's so exciting!" she said, trying to be as eager and enthusiastic as she could. "Now sit down. I have dinner!"

The child scrambled up into the bed and sat, legs crossed, arms held out in front of her. Taking the tray she immediately began eating.

Ino shot another concerned look at the girl and folded her arms across her chest. Glancing over at Sasuke, finding his eyes on the girl, she nudged one of his legs with her own. When he looked over at her, she motioned for him to follow her. He nodded and stood.

"Hey, we're going to go catch up on some stuff," Ino said leaning over to Katahana, who was currently drinking some sort of juice. "But we'll be back in a few, alright?" She kissed the child on the forehead before shooting her another smile. Katahana smiled back brightly before directing her attention back at her meal.

"Come on," she muttered to Sasuke as she walked out of the room, leading the way.

Sasuke had to repress a sigh as he followed the woman out into the hallway.

As Ino closed the door she took a few steps farther down the hall, so that they'd be out of ear-shot of Katahana if she were to attempt to eavesdrop. "I'm not going to lie," she said, stopping and turning to look at Sasuke, taking in his slightly disheveled appearance, "I was not expecting to see you around these parts. When Shikamaru told me you were heading back and needed help, I laughed in his face. That was until I saw you bleeding to death in Naruto's arms and Katahana screaming her head off." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said something about never wanting to return to the village?"

"This wasn't exactly planned," he stated in his defense, not enjoying her sarcastic tone.

She held up a hand to stop him from saying anything further. "Don't bother explaining anything now. There's going to be a meeting later that I'll be at, and we'll be getting all that information out of you then."

"If there's nothing you want from me then why are we out here?"

"Oh, I didn't say that there wasn't anything I wanted to hear from you. Just that I didn't want you explaining your little 'adventure' yet. I just want to know what you're planning on doing now."

Sasuke stared back at her severe expression, not giving anything away. "I don't know yet."

Ino scoffed at him. "Well it's not as if you have many options to choose from. You can stay in the village. You can leave. It's really not that hard of a question," she pointed out.

"I'm not going to repeat myself," he growled in a low voice. "I'm still trying to let it sink in that I have a child I never knew about."

Ino laughed. "Yeah cause Sakura so had a way of letting you know she was pregnant. And you totally would have come running back if you knew. And there isn't a single doubt in my mind that you would've looked after the two of them like such a loving father—"

"I don't have to hear this," he snapped, turning around and walking back toward Katahana's door.

"I think you do," Ino declared. "I think that you need to know all Sakura's done for you and your child, and all we've done to keep her safe."

Sasuke stopped, cursing himself. He didn't want to owe these people anything. It's not like he knew he had a daughter, and it wasn't as if he'd asked anyone to take care of her for him.

But the more and more he thought about her words, he relented, his shoulders slouching as he turned back around to face the woman. Without him even asking, they'd helped to raise his child and to protect her. They'd been doing it her entire life, and he'd only been attempting to do it for a few days.

"She's a great kid," Ino mentioned after he walked back up to where she stood, leaning against the wall. "Very smart and charismatic." Ino grinned, "I don't think there's ever been a person who's met her that doesn't love her."

"Is it a known fact that I'm…"

"That you're her father? Oh definitely. A select few of us knew while she was pregnant, but after she was born, it was unmistakable. She looks just like you after all. Same eyes, same hair."

"And people were okay with that?"

"Oh, hell no. Not at first. There were people who still harbored ill will towards you and the Uchiha as a whole. Dozens of people called for her banishment from the village, screaming ridiculous things about the 'cursed clan' and that she'd only 'grow up to be a monster'." Sasuke's eyes widened as he balled his hands into fists, but the blonde shook her head, "Don't worry. As soon as Naruto heard of this, he decided it was an appropriate time to enlighten the people on the truth of the Uchiha."

Sasuke's fury quickly dissipated and replaced itself with shock. "After everyone learned the truth, their animosity diminished until there were only a few, old, bitter souls left, who still held their resentment regardless of what was said. But there haven't been any problems since. And Katahana's had an extremely normal childhood."

He had been aware that Naruto had eventually made the truth about Itachi's sacrifice and the village's wrong-doings common knowledge amongst the people of the Hidden Leaf—the last time he had seen Naruto, which had been 3 years after his departure, the Hokage informed him of it—but he had no idea that in doing so, he'd helped to ensure a pleasant future for his daughter.

A strange tightness presented itself in Sasuke's throat. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he knew he'd have to thank Naruto sooner or later.

"She may look like you," Ino let out a small laugh, "but she acts a lot more like Sakura. Social, outspoken, very warm-hearted. She's very competitive though," she grinned at the man, "Sakura swears she gets that from you, but I think it may be a little bit from both of her parents. Oh and definitely the stubbornness as well."

Sasuke was struggling to take all of this information in. But with his exhaustion, healing injuries, and still reeling from the fact that he had a daughter, he could hardly wrap his head around any of this new information.

"I just want to know one thing," Sasuke said, cutting Ino off. "Who is after her?"

"That'll have to wait until the meeting later. It'll take a long time to explain anyways."

"How long has Sakura been missing now?"

Ino's expression turned grim. "It'll be a month the day after tomorrow."

"And still no luck?" Sasuke wasn't hopeful.

"Nothing. We're starting to run out of options, too." She shook her head in frustration, trying to keep her emotions at bay. "But if Katahana asks, please just tell her that everyone is looking, and that we'll bring her back."

Sasuke noted how Ino didn't bother tacking on the word 'alive' to her statement. Since his encounter with Shikamaru a few days prior, it seemed that everyone was beginning to lose hope of finding Sakura.

"Now I'll see you tonight," she yawned, stretching her arms above her head, her shirt riding up and revealing more of her already-exposed stomach. "I've been up all night with Katahana, so I'm going to hit the hay." She looked him up and down, "You should probably get some rest, too. You look like shit."

He glared, not amused. She laughed in reply, "You haven't changed a bit, Sasuke. Still no sense of humor after all these years."

He turned to leave her where she stood, but just before he reached Katahana's door, Ino called toward him. "If you're planning on staying long, I'll just warn you that someone will be dropping by really soon. We all take turns making sure someone is here with her. We have a little shift-system worked out."

"Who?" Sasuke asked, as if that would determine whether he'd stay or not. Really, it would determine whether or not he'd stay for a few seconds, or a few minutes.

"I can't remember. Either Kiba or Lee."

Frowning, he decided he'd stay long enough to say goodbye. He didn't feel like dealing with either of the two men. At least, not yet. Opening her door and stepping inside, he was immediately approached by a running child, who wrapped him tightly in a hug, giggling into his side.

He'd deal with everyone else later, when he had to.

But as he hesitantly leaned down on one knee and wrapped a cautious arm around her, he knew they could wait until later. There were more important things—and people—to deal with now.

A/N: The influx of reviews I received from last chapter put me in a lovely mood and got me motivated to do quite a bit of writing. So since I'm feeling quite generous, I decided to post this chapter a lot earlier than I originally intended; I also made it a bit longer than I originally had it.

It was wonderful to read everyone's reaction from last chapter. I hope you all enjoy the introduction of a few of our old Konoha ninja. I'll be slowly re-introducing more and more of them as the next few chapters goes on.

Let me know what you think; even criticism is welcome.

Happy reading.