Thank you to those of you who have reviewed and I thank you greatly for your patience. Along with the fact that I had to spend most of my time getting ready to move to a different place, there was Christmas. So I didn't have a lot of time to work on my stories. Thank you again to my reviewers, I really appreciate it :) and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

This chapter will begin right where the last one left off and I will begin their mission to the Land of Snow in this chapter as well. Enjoy :)

Chapter 11: Making Contracts

Dark eyes slowly fluttered open and his ears adjusted to the noises around him. The sound of soft rain was still active and the male glanced around to see that the morning clouds were still crying a bit. Though it was different, very unlike the harsh rain that normally accompanied him, this rain was calming and gentle. Thinking of the two words that described a certain female, Sasuke looked around for the kunoichi, only for his gaze to lower down when there was movement in his lap. Sakura was fast asleep on the ground with her head in his lap, resting peacefully and letting out quiet, even breathes.

The Uchiha's gaze softened as he lifted up a hand from his side to run it through the kunoichi's pink locks. Images of the dream he had the night before flashed through his mind and he couldn't stop a frown from crossing his features. He had felt so alone at first, so scared, and Itachi had been there, taunting him, reminding him that he was always in his older brother's shadow, that he was weak.

He was so ready to just disappear, to just end the pain and loneliness. His parents were gone, everyone was gone, and yet there was still someone there, asking him not to go. They needed him to stay, to not go away. They needed him. No, she needed him.

"Sakura." he whispered quietly, gazing down at the petite female's face, his heart fluttering softly in contentment.

He thought she was asleep but for some reason, it didn't surprise him when she answered back by letting out a small hum of acknowledgment.

Sasuke continued to watch her as she laid perfectly still with her eyes remaining closed. She waited patiently for him to say what was on his mind, a trait that he valued greatly with her. She was always patient with him, never forcing him to say what was on his mind, just waiting and listening.

"Am I weak?" the quiet words came out before he could stop them, making themselves known to the female in his lap of their own accord. Though they seemed to hold a sense of vulnerability, the Uchiha couldn't bring himself to care. At least not in front of the pink haired female. His comrade. His best friend.

It was with those words that had Sakura opening her eyes to look up at him, her gaze calm as she took in his frowning features looking down at her. Was he remembering something from his dream? Is this how he felt around her? Or was he remembering something that happened with Itachi?

"No." she stated gently yet firmly and watched as dark eyebrows furrowed at her response. The pinkette didn't let his unbelieving gaze stop her though as she continued in a knowing tone, "You are a lot of things, Sasuke; cocky, calm, arrogant, intelligent, observant, and a lot more." Sakura watched as his face fell into a stoic expression as he listened to her and she continued without hesitation, "You are a lot things, but 'weak' was never one of them."

Sasuke barely registered the fact that his hand was still playing with pink tresses as he continued to gaze down into jade orbs. "How can you say that so confidently?" he asked calmly. The dark haired male didn't miss the negative words she had thrown in there while describing him, though he figured that was her way of showing her honesty. Her words were sincere, that was what she thought of him and yet, he couldn't bring himself to care about being called 'arrogant' or 'cocky'.

"Because its true." the kunoichi replied without breaking eye contact with the dark haired male. "Sasuke." she sighed and reached up to grasp the hand running through her hair. Bringing it down to lay on her stomach, she cupped his hand inside her palm and held it. "You're one of the strongest people I know."

Sasuke didn't respond, not quite sure on what to say, as he watched the kunoichi close her eyes and frown. "There is more than psychical ability that makes a person strong, Sasuke." she stated gently, making his face light up a small amount. "Now stop degrading yourself. Its unbecoming of you."

Since the pink haired female's eyes were closed, she wasn't rewarded the small smile that was directed towards her. It was a genuine smile that he could only show to her, it was a smile reserved only for her. The Uchiha's smile didn't leave as he twisted his wrist around to hold her hand and lace his fingers through hers.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" he asked calmly, though on the inside he didn't exactly want her to leave. Her parents were probably worried about her since she was out all night.

Sakura grunted in response but moved to stand up nonetheless, Sasuke letting go of her hand while she did so. He watched silently as she stood up and stretched, mewling as her back popped. The kunoichi let out a sigh as she looked over to where the sun began to rise over the tree covered horizon, the sight making her smile warmly and her gaze to soften.

"Have sunrises always been this beautiful?" she asked softly though she didn't really expect a response and wasn't surprised when she didn't get one. Though unbeknownst to her, the dark haired male's eyes weren't on the way the rising sun lit up the sky with red and purple hues, but rather, they were on her.

Sakura turned to look back down at the Uchiha watching her, a smile still on her face. "Come on, lets go so we can eat and Naruto can pester you about where I've been." The pinkette didn't even try to stop a laugh when the Uchiha let out an already annoyed sigh.

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

"Come in!"

Sakura opened the doors to her Hokage's office, the ceremony only taking place the day before where Tsunade was officially made Kage of the Hidden Leaf Village. The kunoichi shut the door behind her and walked to stand in the center of the room, spotting Shizune standing beside the older woman's desk with her trusty pig in her arms. Jade orbs looked seriously in front of her and met the eyes of the blonde woman.

"You're Sakura, right? I've heard a lot about you from the brat and your sensei."

The pinkette nodded her head and bowed respectively before her Shishou before righting herself, her features still portraying how serious she was about this. The blonde woman nodded her head and waved her hand over her desk to show off the huge stack of paperwork she had on the corner of her maroon desk.

"Try to make this quick. I have a lot of paperwork to do."

"I'm afraid that will have to wait. I have more important things to discuss with you."

Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows at the pinkette as she reached into a pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. Chestnut eyes followed as Sakura placed it on her desk. It was a note, neatly folded into a perfect square and it looked like it was quite old, as if it were in that same position for years, just collecting dust in a drawer somewhere.

"What is this?" she asked while picking it up to inspect it further. Tsunade ignored the woman beside her as Shizune leaned in to look at the note as well.

"It is note that only you will be able to open. Apply your chakra to it and it should unfold." Sakura replied calmly. Not soon after, Tsunade hovered a glowing hand over the piece of paper and it unfolded, the contents that were written looking as though it had been wrote only the day before. When the note opened all the way, multiple sets of pictures fell onto the desk, along with another note, but the older woman didn't pay that much mind just yet. Jade orbs glanced down to see that the pictures consisted of every single member of the Akatsuki.

Tsunade ignored the photos and decided to look over the writing on the note, noting that it was exactly like her own hand writing. Many moments passed and soon, both Tsunade and Shizune had wide eyes as their faces fell in complete shock and bewilderment. Placing the note on the table after she was finished with it, Tsunade looked on seriously as she placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her folded hands.

"This note was apparently written by me and states that you are from thirteen years in the future." she stated, watching the pink haired kunoichi carefully. "It also said that if I required proof then I should ask you personal questions that only those close to me would know."

Sakura nodded her head. "Should I begin?"

"Go ahead."

The kunoichi took in a big inhale of breath to prepare herself, "With all due respect, of course." she began and waited for the blonde's nod of affirmation before she continued, "You have a bad habit of gambling and losing, you're a lush, you're the best medic in Konoha at this moment, you're the granddaughter of the first Hokage, the third Hokage was your sensei, Orochimaru and Jiraiya were your teammates, you have a foul temper, and though you always denied Jiraiya's attempts of dating him, you actually had a secret crush on him during your genin days."

Tsunade and Shizune gaped at the pink haired female as she calmly continued, "You have a sweet tooth and always keep a spare bottle of sake in your desk that took forever for Shizune and I to find. It soon became your favorite hiding place and I wouldn't be surprised if you have a bottle in there right now."

The blonde Hokage's eyebrow twitched uncomfortably. "And where would this 'favorite hiding place' be?"

A small smirk took over Sakura's face as she pointed to the desk's leg that was closest to the blonde and to her left. "There's a small compartment in that leg where you push in the wood. Put a bit of pressure on it and it'll open up."

Tsunade looked on in shock as Shizune bent over and searched around the wooden leg until a part of it pressed further in and slid down. True to Sakura's word, there was a small compartment with a full bottle of sake in it. The dark haired female frowned up at her Hokage before taking out the bottle and holding it down by her side.

The Hokage frowned at the scowl she received from the pig lover but then turned back to look at the photos on her desk. She reached up and spread them out, looking over all of the members in the black cloaks. "These are all of the members of the Akatsuki?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded. "Though I would like Kakashi-sensei to be here when we discuss it."

"Very well. Shizune, go fetch the copy ninja."

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

"You wished to speak with me, Lady Tsunade?"

"Yes, we need to discuss this matter." the blonde replied, gesturing to the ten photos on her desk.

Kakashi stepped in front of the next, leaning over to get a better look at the photos. "So I take it that you believe Sakura?"

Tsunade let out a nervous cough into her hand, remembering everything the pink haired kunoichi had said that she knew about her. "Yes, well, on to more important matters."

Sakura glanced over to the side to see the copy nin wearing a small smirk under his mask before turning serious. The kunoichi brought back her attention to the blonde as she spoke up seriously. "How much do you know about them, Sakura?"

"Names, abilities, personalities, and the like. Do you want me to begin?"

The blonde woman nodded and that was permission enough for Sakura to begin. Pointing her finger to the first person on her right, she looked down at the male that had blue skin and a huge sword strapped to his back. "This is Kisame Hoshigaki, a former Wave shinobi. He generally uses his favored sword, Samehada, and can absorb one's chakra. He enjoys a fight but can be deceptive."

The pinkette pulled back her hand and crossed her arms over her stomach as she looked up to meet the Hokage's eyes. "Since the Akatsuki are made of groups of two, everyone had a specific partner that usually fits into the other's personality. Like Kakashi and I have already seen, Kisame's partner is Itachi Uchiha. I'll go over the Wave ninja's information more later to go over the basics with the others, if that is alright with you, of course."

Tsunade nodded and looked down to the next picture that Sakura pointed to; a picture of a redhead sat next to Kisame's and that was the one that the pinkette started to explain next. "Sasori of the Red Sand. He is a puppet master originally from Suna. Kakashi-sensei knows who I'm talking about when I say that Konkuro from the chuunin exams, his puppet 'Crow' was created by Sasori. He will also use the third Kazekage's body as a puppet against us in a battle two and a half years from now."

Everyone's eyes widened at her comment but she dismissed it and continued in a calm tone. "He is rather impatient and often gets into arguments with his partner Deidara about what true art is. Personally, they're both a pain in the ass."

Sakura then pointed to the photo next to the redhead which just happened to be the blonde that she was previously complaining about. "This is Deidara, a ninja from Iwagakure. Because of his nature of causing explosions, Itachi and Kisame were told to recruit him after Orochimaru left the organization. Depending on what you say to him, he can have a short temper and usually ends his sentences with 'yeah' or 'un'. He makes his explosions by using clay and the mouths that he has on his hands."

"Interesting." spoke the copy ninja next to her, putting his hand to his chin in thought. "You remembered everything about all of these members?"

Sakura nodded her head in return. "When they're a future threat to the whole world, naturally."

Tsunade picked up her head from looking at the picture of the blonde to meet jade orbs. "The world? Are you saying that a war's going to break out?"

"I'll explain everything all in due time, Tsunade-shishou." the pink haired kunoichi replied. The Hokage raised an eyebrow at her but nodded nonetheless.

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

The meeting had lasted for almost two hours with Sakura going over every single person, not missing a single detail about every member's abilities and traits. Everyone had looked at her like she was crazy when she told them about Hidan having immortality because of his religion and that was when Tsunade decided she needed a drink to help her keep up with all of the information she was receiving. The pinkette had went over details about all of the battles that they fought and she didn't fail to add in that Tobi was actually Obito posing as Madara, which had Kakashi's eyes widening in utter shock.

After Sakura had gotten in all the information about the Akatsuki over with, Tsunade presented them with a mission to get started on tomorrow; they were to protect Princess Koyuki, the heiress of the Snow Country. So the two left the Hokage's office after being dismissed and then set out to find the two male genin of Team Seven. They walked silently down the streets for a few moments, searching for either of the duo.

"You didn't tell the Hokage about Sasuke." Kakashi spoke up, shoving one hand into his pocket and pulling out his trusty copy of Icha Icha Paradise with the other to indulge himself in the words.

The pink haired kunoichi nodded her head, looking around at the people walking down the street. "Shishou took in a lot today, I don't want to take it overboard by telling her that there's a possibility that one of the best genin in the village is going to betray us."

Silence fell between them again and they soon were met with the sight of Naruto and Sasuke sitting on stools at Ichiraku's, making a smile cross the kunoichi's lips. "Do you think he'll leave us, sensei?"

Kakashi looked over his book to see that the two male's had felt them approaching and looked back at them. Naruto grinned broadly and waved at them but what the copy nin paid more attention to was the way the Uchiha's eyes landed on Sakura and the way his lips tilted into a small smile as he looked at her.

"No, I don't think he will." he replied, making the pinkette's smile brighter as she waved to her two teammates and set out into a short run to stand next to them.

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

"I can't wait to see this movie!" the blonde of the trio said excitedly, fist pumping into the air to emphasize his point. "I couldn't get any sleep last night because I was so excited."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the male skeptically. From what she had heard while trying to sleep last night, the blonde had practically snored the house out. The kunoichi yawned into her palm and then began to choke on air with the blonde's next words, "Oh and Sakura, if you find any stains on the couch, it was Kyoun."

The pink haired female gave the blonde an incredulous look while Sasuke sighed. "Do I even want to know?" she asked skeptically and the blonde shook his head at her as they continued to walk toward the theater. Turning a disgusted frown to the road ahead of her, she grumbled disapprovingly, "Ugh, that's so gross."

Naruto let out a bark of laughter while the Uchiha softly chuckled, both amused by her whiny pout. She would be hearing a lot of complaining from her mother when she got home, that was for sure. Soon, the theater doors came into view and jade and onyx orbs watched as a head of blonde hair darted off to pester the person up front about getting in and that he had to watch the movie.

Sakura let a small smile cross her lips as the man frowned down at the over-energetic blonde and told him that he needed to a buy ticket first. The kunoichi broke out into an easy run to catch up with her blonde best friend, leaving the stoic male behind to catch up to them at his own pace. It didn't take long at all for them to get their tickets and make their way into the theater, Naruto and Sakura jumping up to the ceiling as soon as they stepped into the room.

Letting out a sigh, Sasuke did the same and applied chakra to his feet, hanging upside down on the ceiling. A dark eyebrow rose, seeing that his two teammates had taken it upon themselves to look foolish as they crawled on the surface to get closer to the huge screen instead of walking like a normal person.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows as she playfully nudged the blonde in his side with her elbow, snickering when he complained that she was going to make him lose balance and fall. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a head of dark hair standing next to her. Jade orbs looked up to see Sasuke looking down at her and giving her a quizzical look, no doubt still having suspicions about her level of maturity. The kunoichi chuckled and gave him a sheepish smile before the movie began. After all, why should she waste her time acting adult-like when she was 'technically' twelve, almost thirteen?

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

"Ugh! It sucks that we didn't get to see the ending!" the blonde grumbled loudly while kicking the ground, a deep frown on his lips.

Sakura snickered as she sat down on the ground, her legs crossed with her hands grabbing her feet, rocking gently back and forth. "You shouldn't have caused such a ruckus then we wouldn't have gotten caught."

Naruto turned around and scowled down at her, pointing his finger at her accusingly. "You were the one that started the whole food fight!"

Things went a little differently than the last time Sakura had seen that movie, though she wasn't exactly the one that had started it. When the audience began tossing food at them because of Naruto, the kunoichi had gotten annoyed and decided to throw the produce back at the crowd, which had caused an even bigger uproar. Naruto had gotten the worse of the event, getting hit with numerous types of food. The pinkette had at first tried to find shelter behind her stoic teammate, which ended up with him getting hit with some sort of drink and him taking his revenge out on her, which happened to be shoving chocolate in her face when she wasn't paying attention. All around, Sakura had been amused. The other two. . . not so much.

"Hn." the dark haired male grumbled, pulling at his now sticky, blue shirt.

The pinkette continued to rock back and forth, her good mood not dissipating with their foul disapproval of her actions. "Screw you guys. I had fun." she laughed.

Naruto continued to scowl at her as he shook his head, chip crumbs falling from his blonde locks, making Sakura's laughter continue. Without any warning, she suddenly stood up and walked over to the Uchiha sitting on the pile of large pipes next to them. The kunoichi stopped in front of him with a smile on her features and chocolate still smeared on her cheek. Sasuke arched an eyebrow, already knowing that she was up to no good.

"Why do you think Kakashi-sensei had us watch this movie?" she asked no in particular.

Sasuke continued to watch the female in front of him warily while Naruto answered her, "Maybe its for that new mission he was supposed to be telling us about today?"

"Probably." she replied before giving the dark haired male in front of her a sly smirk. The Uchiha looked taken aback for a moment and tried to pull back when she wiped at her cheek, but it was too late. A skillful finger swiped across his face, smearing chocolate over his smooth cheek and nose. Onyx eyes narrowed as he frowned down at the kunoichi, her chuckling and their blonde teammate laughing loudly.

"So annoying." he grumbled while wiping away the offending, sweet treat from his face with the back of his hand. One of his eyes were closed as he tried to get rid of it, reminding the pink haired female of a cat trying to clean itself, the thought only making her laugh further. His one opened eye looked at her and his frown deepened. Sakura stuck her tongue out at him playfully before turning to face a grinning Naruto.

At that moment, loud footsteps could be heard getting closer to the group, but they weren't steps that belonged to a human. The trio looked to see a white horse jumping over the large, wooden fence behind them, a beautiful woman riding on it and her dark hair flying in the wind behind her. After her horse hit the ground, she took off, multiple people jumping over the fence and following after her on their own horses.

The team of genin followed after the woman immediately, Naruto yelling after her and for the others to stop chasing her. Along the way, Sakura had transformed into the woman to take her place, the group of men successfully still following her. She rode down alleyways, glided through streets, and jumped down stairs. It was only when she was jumping down a pair of stairs when oil was splayed across the concrete, causing the horse to lose balance and fall. At the last moment, the pinkette kicked off of the horse and flipped through the air, landing gracefully on the ground before changing back. The men continued to charge after her however, shouting.

"Imposter!"

"She's hiding the Princess!"

"Get her!"

The men jumped off of their horses and charged at her, her body being covered from head to toe with men in armor. Sakura gritted her teeth and punched the ground in annoyance, the men losing their balance and collapsing onto the broken earth, groaning in pain. The kunoichi narrowed her eyes at the men around before grumbling disapprovingly, "Amateurs."

Jade orbs looked up to see the Uchiha standing on the back of a horse with a man falling to the ground. Their next client. Sakura had to suppress a laugh. She had fully known who these people were and yet she had went up against them anyway. Though she mainly did it because she had been bored. Walking over to the brown horse that Sasuke still stood on, she stopped in front of it and gently raked her hand over it's head.

"You're so pretty." the pinkette said lovingly, the horse letting out a snort in reply and making a grin cross Sakura's features.

Sasuke looked down at the female for a moment before looking behind her to the twitching men laying around in the small crater she had made. A smirk of amusement crossed his lips at the sight. "So what do we do with them now?" he asked casually like the situation they were in was an everyday thing.

The pinkette shrugged lazily, still running her hands over the horse's head and hair. "They shouldn't be getting up anytime soon."

"Hn." the Uchiha replied. Onyx eyes watched as the pinkette walked closer to him and jumped up onto the mammal, throwing her leg over the side so that she straddled it's back. "You like horses?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the way she praised the animal with affections.

Sakura tilted her head to look back at the stoic male, giving him a blank look. "You don't like them?"

The dark haired male let out a sigh before sitting down, putting his back to the female's and leaning back comfortably. The pinkette let a soft smile cross her lips and rested her head back on a broad shoulder, looking up at the bright sky.

"I wonder where the dobe went." Sasuke said quietly. They had lost track of him awhile back, him choosing to chase after the woman while Sasuke decided to follow Sakura with the men chasing after her. He wasn't all too worried about her safety, the men had been all too easy to take care of. He was just curious as to what she would do. Though he would be lying if he said that he didn't want to keep an eye on her.

The kunoichi let out a sigh and shrugged before yawning into her palm. "Who knows?"

Onyx orbs looked to the side to see a head of pink hair laying on his shoulder and a hand rubbing at closed eyes. The scene brought a small smirk to his lips. "Tired?"

"No." she grumbled before another yawn left her lips, making the Uchiha chuckle. Wind shifted through the area, pink hair flying back and into the dark haired male's face. It smelled vaguely of vanilla and it made him want to run his fingers through it to feel it's soft texture.

"What are you two doing?" The two genin frowned and looked up to see their sensei looking at them quizzically before his gaze shifted to the male on the ground beside the horse's feet. "And why is our client unconscious?"

Sakura laughed knowingly. "Hey Kakashi-sensei." she called out to get his attention.

The copy ninja brought his gaze up to look at the female, signaling that he was listening.

"Can I bring Kyoun along for this mission? He's been getting restless just sitting around the house." she asked excitedly, shifting around so that she fully faced her sensei.

"Sakura, this is an A-ranked mission." he stated.

The kunoichi's face fell at that. "He won't cause any trouble, I promise."

"If I have to worry about anybody causing trouble, it'll be his owner." he replied, the tone in his voice practically smirking.

Sakura frowned deeply while the dark haired male behind her let out a soft chuckle. At least those two found amusement in the copy ninja's words because she sure didn't, though it was most likely true. Either way, she had more important things to attend to. Jumping off the horse, the kunoichi landed in front of her sensei, giving him a serious look.

"Do you have the scroll?" she asked and was pleased when he reached into a pocket and pulled out the requested item.

"Do you have any idea what this scroll possesses, Sakura?" the copy nin asked, arching an eyebrow at her as she took it from him, sat down on the ground, and rolled out the scroll, the end bumping into the client's still unconscious head.

"Of course I do." she replied, "That's why I asked you to get it for me." She was completely aware of what was inside the scroll and she was completely positive that she could handle it.

The kunoichi bit the pad of her right thumb and smeared it onto the scroll, her name slowly appearing beside two other people's. Once she wrote her whole name, she bit the rest of her fingers and slammed them into the space beside her name. After that, she did numerous hand signs in a fast pace and the scroll began to spin around in the air in circles. Sakura continued to do the hand signs until the scroll fell back onto the ground and the previous names had disappeared, only revealing a blank scroll. That is until the pinkette smeared her blood onto it, writing her name again and then slamming her fingertips into the paper. Once she was finished, she held out her hand and the scroll started to wrap around her arm and wrist, slowly etching it's way into the her skin and resting on the under side of her right wrist.

Sakura waited patiently for it to end and upturned her wrist to see that a picture of a huge scythe was imprinted into the skin there. Standing up, she stretched out her hand, flexing her fingers and feeling sparks of electricity pulse through her veins.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Sakura." Kakashi spoke. "Even the two before you couldn't handle that contract and that was just the first half. There's no telling what the other half does."

The pink haired female rested her hand down by her side, still feeling the spiking energy racing through her hand as she grinned up at her sensei. "I'll be fine, sensei. Besides, we have a mission to start." she replied, pointing down at their waking client.

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

Sakura barely listened as their client gave them the details about what they were supposed to be doing. She was more focused on other things like the upcoming battle once they entered the Snow Country, the way her hand constantly twitched with crackling energy, and more jutsus that she could learn while they were on the mission. There were so many things that she could still learn and she tried to think back to any sort of techniques that the members of the Akatsuki used. Maybe she could use some of their styles, though it would be hard with most of the members, considering that she didn't have their Kekkai Genkais. So that ruled out Deidara, naturally Tobi and Itachi, and whoever else that she didn't bother mentioning. Sasori's technique didn't sound too bad. Chakra strings. . . She would have to practice that on someone in the near future.

There was also Naruto's Rasengan. That wouldn't be too hard to master with her level of chakra control. Why was she feeling so antsy about the whole thing? It felt like her whole body was twitching with anticipation. She didn't think that she could sit in her chair for much longer, she was ready to jump up and go crazy.

"Sakura."

The pinkette looked up to meet her sensei's gaze and it was only then that she realized her whole body had been twitching, trembling was more like it. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." she nodded, "Its just the side effects of the contracts."

Kakashi nodded his head in return, getting back to business and discussing things with their client. Sasuke watched the kunoichi warily from the corner of his eye. As soon as the copy nin adverted his attention away from her, her head had fell back down to gaze at the folded hands in her lap. It looked like she was anxious about something, like she was completely on edge. He hadn't failed to notice the sudden sparks of energy ever since she took that scroll from Kakashi, and it slightly unnerved him. The Uchiha wasn't sure what she had done or what it was doing to her but he didn't like it at all.

Soon, the group ended the discussion and set off to search for the troublesome, female actor. Sakura walked behind their client, Sandayuu, as they searched for the woman. If the kunoichi remembered correctly, she was in a bar on the other side of town later that evening, though the pinkette had no idea where she was at that moment. Most likely with Naruto, though wherever he happened to be was a mystery.

Sakura held out her hand to look at the back of her wrist, the scythe under her skin twitching irritably for some sort of action. The kunoichi let out an annoyed sigh. She was going to have a tough time trying to control the Banshee later on, much less the scythe. At least it kept things interesting enough.

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

Wind whipped around pink locks as jade orbs looked over the side of the ship, watching the ocean water hit up against the wood as the stars shone in the reflection of the liquid surface. Sakura sat down on the deck, putting her legs in between the railings and hanging them over the edge. Her sensei and two teammates were on the other side of the deck, discussing details of the mission. She had other things on her mind, making her want to be alone at that moment.

The female closed her eyes and rested her head against one of the wooden railings next to her. All of a sudden, a piercing scream echoed throughout her mind, shrill and earsplitting. Gritting her teeth in pain, she looked over to see where it had come from and found that her team was perfectly fine, as if nothing was wrong. Realizing what had caused it, Sakura looked back down to the scythe imprinted into the flesh of the underside of her wrist. A harsh pulsation rippled through her entire body, causing her to grunt in discomfort and lean further into the railing.

Another agonizing scream filled her thoughts and she clenched her eyes shut, her entire body erupting with goosebumps. Sakura tried to block out the wailing, but it seemed to only make it worse. Soon, the pink haired female was clutching at the hair of her scalp, her body shaking in small tremors. The skin around her wrist was crawling fiercely and when she opened her eyes to look, there were grey markings working it's way up and around her forearm.

Moving her head to look away from it, her jade orbs looked into the water and the kunoichi couldn't help but let out a loud gasp, though she couldn't hear her own noise over the loud screech coming from the woman she saw in the water. Instead of the her own reflection, a hideous woman looked back at her. Her skin was a cold grey color, like death itself, and her features were wrinkled into a terrifying expression. The woman's long hair was pitch black and coiled around in knots and tangles. Her teeth were long and sharp, coiling around into a nasty snarl. Her eyes were pure red and held such an evil hatred as she stared back at Sakura. The cloak that was around her shoulders was black as well but that was the only thing the pinkette could pick out on the woman's clothing.

Jade orbs followed the movement as the woman's eyes lowered to the kunoichi's legs hanging over the side of the ship. Realizing what she was planning to do, Sakura moved back from the railing as quickly as she could and clutched at her ears when the woman let out another piercing screech.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" someone asked as the kunoichi skidded to a crawling stop in the center of the deck.

The female's eyes were wide and her entire body was shivering, especially her right arm as the grey markings continued to crawl up her arm. Sakura closed her eyes, willing the woman to back off, though it only seemed to make it worse. Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder and there was another wail, yet the kunoichi couldn't help but notice that it was different. It wasn't filled with anger or hatred, it was filled with some sort of sorrow. The female's body started to calm down, the shaking slowly coming to a stop and when it did, Sakura could feel the markings in her arm starting to retract. It was a tingling feeling and when all them disappeared back into the scythe where it had come from, the muscles and veins in her wrist twitched.

Jade orbs looked up to meet the person that was holding onto her. Onyx eyes looked down at her with concern, a hand coming to wrap around her shoulder. Sakura blinked at him for a moment, her breathing evening back out. "Sasuke?"

He nodded his head and pulled back his hands, watching her carefully. Naruto was kneeling down next to her other side while Kakashi moved to sit down in front of her, crossing his legs. Sakura adverted her attention from the frowning Uchiha to narrow her eyes at her sensei when he grasped her right hand. She watched as he placed her palm upright on his knee and bit the pad of his thumb. Jade orbs widened as she snatched her hand back, realizing what he was about to do.

"You're not going to put a seal on her, Kakashi-sensei. I won't let you." she spoke firmly, placing her hand in between her thighs and clenching them tightly together childishly. Sakura knew that if he was being completely serious about the matter then something like her thighs wouldn't keep him from getting to her wrist, but it was worth a shot.

The copy nin gave her a serious look, though most of it was covered by the mask and that was when the kunoichi knew that he was being completely serious about sealing up the banshee. "Don't be foolish, Sakura. You've only had it for a few hours and its already tearing at your mind."

"What? What is?" Naruto asked worriedly, blue eyes looking between his pink haired teammate and their sensei.

Sakura dismissed her blonde friend for a moment, keeping her attention on the man before her. "Sealing her will only piss her off more, sensei. I wouldn't have asked you for the scroll if I didn't know that I could handle it."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her for a moment but the female's gaze was firm, returning his challenge wholeheartedly. She was strong, that was for sure. Even though he was her sensei, in ways she was his superior. The kunoichi had seen many more days than he did, years in fact. She had lived a whole other life before this one, her mind was no doubt more developed than any of her peers. Aside from that, she could be the most stubborn person he'd ever met at times when she wanted to be. That exact moment was proof of that statement.

The copy nin let out a sigh as he lifted up a hand and scratched at the back of his head. "Alright, but if it gets to where you can't handle it then-"

"I'll tell you." Sakura smiled triumphantly.

"What's going on?" the blonde whined as he held his head in confusion.

"Yes, Sakura." Kakashi said, leaning back calmly. "Please tell us exactly what's going on."

The female frowned up at him and the so called 'request' he just implied. The silver haired male wanted her to tell them all of the details so that they would know what was going on and what to do if she needed the help. Glancing over to her left, she met curious dark eyes. Sasuke wanted to know as well. Sakura knew that he would want to know the details the most and that he would manage to get the answers one way or another from her. And yet, it wasn't that fact that had her resolve breaking. It was the way he looked at her, with such curiosity and a genuine concern for her well being.

"Fine." she sighed, lifting up her wrist for the three to look at the scythe imprinted into her skin. Looking over to Naruto's gaze, she began to recall the details of the earlier events of the day. "When you were off somewhere earlier today, I had Kakashi-sensei get me a scroll that was hidden somewhere in the Hokage building."

Naruto's curious gaze instantly set into a serious expression, showing that he was listening intently. "I heard that you made a contract with the toads when you were off training with Jiraiya." she continued, watching as the blonde nodded his head in affirmation. "Its a lot like that and when Kakashi-sensei calls on his dogs." The pinkette looked down into her lap, her eyes falling on the scythe on her wrist. "On one side of the scroll was a scythe, its a summoning jutsu that calls upon it. On the other side was a banshee. Unlike other summoning jutsus, the amount of chakra I put into it won't change anything. Its always the same."

"Why is that?" the blonde asked curiously.

"About forty years ago," their sensei began, making the two other males look up at him, though Kakashi's gaze stayed on Sakura. "one of Konoha's shinobi teams found a woman wandering around while on a mission. It was said that she was a beautiful woman that held onto a large scythe and that her shrill scream and evil gaze were enough to kill most of the team members. In order to survive, one shinobi had to seal her spirit inside a scroll."

"That man." the pinkette began, taking over the story telling from her sensei. Everyone's eyes turned back to look at her but she continued to stare into her wrist. "He created a summoning scroll and made a contract with the woman. He died soon after and the next person to get the scroll, a young kunoichi from a nearby village, was the next to sign the scroll and make the contract."

"What happened to them?" the blonde asked.

"They committed suicide soon after the signing." Kakashi spoke, his voice calm yet firm.

Onyx and blue eyes widened drastically as they gaped up at their sensei. "Why?" they both questioned in unison but then looked back at the kunoichi incredulously.

"Insanity." she answered. "That was only with them signing the contract with the first half; the banshee. That scythe the woman carried has incredible power. So much, in fact, that a mere jounin would have trouble handling it." As if hearing that it was mentioned, the weapon sent out a spark of electricity throughout the pinkette's arm, making her grit her teeth.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed at the information he was taking in. Insanity? Contracts? Suicide? Was Sakura going to- No! Why would she do that? "Why would you make a contract with something so dangerous?" he grounded out, gritting his teeth in mixed emotions.

Jade orbs looked over to meet his eyes, a frown set on the kunoichi's lips. "Because I had to."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as his fists shook in frustration. Every time he thought she was finally out of trouble, she went and did something else completely crazy. And now her sanity was apart of the equation. Just great. Though he questioned if she actually had it in the first place considering she would do something so drastic. He should have stopped her when he was watching her sign that scroll, or at least question her motives.

"Did Shishou give you any information about it?" Sakura asked, turning her attention back up to Kakashi.

He nodded his head in return. "She said that the memories should appear in dreams."

The pinkette nodded and stood up, her team's eyes on her the whole time. She would have to prepare herself for the nightmares she would have that night. They would be horrid, she knew, but that would be her first key to controlling the banshee. Sakura was determined to understand what those before her could not. The pink haired female was more than a mere shinobi, more than a mere woman. She had seen death, torture, and pain. She could handle this and she would use that power to take out Orochimaru and everyone else that would dare to threaten Konoha.

Sasuke watched as the pinkette stood up and began to walk away from them, her head down in seemingly deep thought. Dark eyebrows furrowed worriedly as he continued to watch her retreating form. What was he going to do? What could he do? Sakura could only do this by herself, something else he didn't like her doing. She was always doing things by herself during missions, usually leaving him and Naruto to wonder what she was up to and if she was alright.

"She'll be alright, you two."

The Uchiha looked over to see their sensei looking at him and when he glanced over, he saw that Naruto had a worried expression on his face as well.

~~SCENE CHANGE~~

Trees littered the entire area as fog seemingly crawled out of the ground. Jade orbs looked around, wondering where she was. It was some sort of forest. Odd. She didn't remember being there. She didn't remember this forest at all, yet something told her that she was still in the Land of Fire. The kunoichi began a careful walk, looking over her surroundings for any sense of familiarity. Soon, crying reached the pinkette's ears and she set out into a run to get to the person. Something was telling her to move forward, to go forth. So she did.

All of a sudden, Sakura felt her body being lifted up, pausing her sprint, as the scene changed. Her feet touched the ground and she found herself standing in the center of a small hut. Jade orbs glanced around the space, noting that it only had two beds and a stone fire pit near the opposite wall of the beds. There was an elderly lady sitting down comfortably on one of the beds made of animal furs. She had long, white hair that reached down to her ankles and piercing, blue eyes.

Suddenly, the one door in the room swung open, gathering both of the female's attentions, and in stepped a beautiful, young woman that filled the pinkette with envy, though she couldn't have been more than fifteen. She wore a gorgeous smile as she shut the door behind her and made her way to stand by the elderly lady. Much like the woman's, her hair was a deep white color, almost silver, but it stopped down to her waist. The woman's eyes were a brilliant, crimson red and were filled with mirth as happy tears ran down her cheeks.

"Oh, Gran Gran." she smiled, grabbing a hold of the elder's hands. "He said it! He said he loved me!"

"Who did, child?"

Before Sakura could hear the young woman's reply, the scene shifted again and the pinkette found herself landing outside the hut she had previously been in. Even though she could tell it was the same hut, it looked worn and torn apart. In fact, it looked burnt, just barely surviving a fire attack. A loud, pained cry could be heard off in the distance and Sakura couldn't help but run toward it. She passed multiple trees, going deeper into the forest. The sight she was met with had her eyes widening and she was filled with an immense amount of sorrow and pain.

The young woman she saw earlier had to be about eighteen or so now and she was on the ground, clutching the elderly woman's body to her. A large scythe was stuck in her stomach as she looked up at her granddaughter. Tears fell from red eyes and landed on the woman's cheek, mixing in with the blood that fell from in between her lips.

"Don't go, Gran Gran." the young woman cried.

"Kaita, you're so strong. I knew you would eventually find out what that man was trying to do." Gran Gran mumbled before her eyes closed for the last time. A new string of tears fell from Kaita's red, sorrowful eyes and she clutched onto the woman tighter.

Then, Sakura's feet lifted off the ground as everything shifted again and she found herself standing in the center of a grassy field. The silver haired, young woman, now looking about twenty, laid on the ground to the side with the same scythe clutched in her palm. The sight made the pink haired kunoichi want to wretch. Kaita was lying on the ground, practically naked, her clothes torn in so many places as tears ran down her pale cheeks. There were scratches at the exposed skin of her thighs and waist and it didn't take much thought to figure out that she had been raped.

What had Sakura's anger boiling even more was that a man that looked exactly like the person that she vowed to kill was standing before the crushed and crying woman. The man's dark hair fell to his shoulders in straight strands and his eyes were incredibly cold. There was something different about him than Orochimaru though, he was taller and broader and didn't have the stripes coming down from his eyes. Was that man his father?

Broken red orbs looked up at the man standing before her, a dreadful and agonizing hate clear in them as she gritted her teeth in anger. It was obvious to anyone that that man had betrayed her in more ways than one.

"I hate you." she whispered brokenly.

A sinister smirk crossed the male's features before he leaned over and snatched the scythe from the woman's grasp as if taking back something that was stolen from him. "Good." he replied before bringing down the blade and stabbing the woman in the heart.

"No!" Sakura screamed and then her world turned black, slowly spiraling into nothingness.

The pink haired kunoichi sat upright in the bed, her breathing coming out in short pants as sweat adorned her body. She ran a hand through her sweat drenched bangs and looked over to see her two teammates sleeping in their own beds. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen so she assumed he was already awake and outside on the deck. Letting out a sigh, she threw the rest of the covers off of her sweaty body and stood up. Walking out of the room, she made her way to the deck.

As soon as Sakura stepped into the cool, morning air, she felt completely relieved from the heat of her skin. It was refreshing and the wind gliding across her face and through her hair only helped matters. Jade eyes looked around and found her sensei leaning up against a railing, reading his book. Walking over at a calm pace, Sakura made her way to him and sat down on the wooden floor, leaning her back against a railing.

"Get enough sleep?" he asked without looking from his book to glance down at the pinkette by his side, though his attention was on her and not the words on the page in front of him.

Sakura let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, images of the dream she had flashing through her mind. "Yeah." she whispered weakly, a pain that wasn't her own starting to etch it's way through her chest. Silence fell between them for a moment, the sun slowly rising over the horizon, giving the ocean water a beautiful red and pink tint, but the kunoichi was too focused on other things than to focus on that. "Her name is Kaita." she mumbled without opening her eyes.

"What happened to her?" Kakashi asked, finally looking away from his book to watch the small female sitting down beside him.

"She lived with her grandmother in a small hut and when she came home one day, she was incredibly happy that some man had said he loved her. She was fifteen when I saw that." she replied slowly. "Then when she was eighteen, the man had betrayed her and killed her grandmother. Once twenty, she was raped by him and he killed her. The rest, I can only fill in with my imagination. But there was one thing that made the rest look normal."

"What was that?"

Jade orbs fluttered open to look sadly up at the other side of the empty deck. "That man. . . I'm almost positive that it was Orochimaru's father."

"Are you sure?" her sensei asked incredulously and the female could just imagine that his eyes had widened at her comment.

"Yeah." she nodded in return. "Just makes me want to kill the snake bastard even more."

"I would like that." said a smooth, familiar voice that echoed throughout the kunoichi's mind.

Sakura frowned deeply as she blinked tiredly. Why wasn't she surprised that the woman had managed to make herself known inside her head again? "I'm so glad you haven't decided to start screaming yet."

"Don't tempt me, little girl."

"My name is Sakura." the kunoichi replied firmly, closing her eyes.

"Very well, Sakura. It appears that you know of a man that is similar to the one I despise."

"Is that why you're so against to being sealed into a scroll or attached to a human?"

"I wish to take out my revenge and I cannot do so while attached to mere humans." Kaita said bitterly with a hint of hate in her smooth voice.

"Naturally." Sakura replied. It was always about revenge, always about having to do it by themselves, though after witnessing some of the woman's memories firsthand, the kunoichi didn't blame the woman one bit. And the pinkette didn't have much room to criticize, she was planning on taking out her vengeance on the snake man as well. "What if I told you that I could help you with your revenge?"

"Then my services will be yours."

"Promise?" the pinkette questioned skeptically.

"I am a woman of my word. Now how will you be of use to me?"

"That man. There is another that looks exactly like him. Did he have a son?"

"He did. I found out that night he murdered Gran Gran that he was wed to another woman and had a first born son, though I did not get his name."

"Great." Sakura groaned out in irritation. So she was right. "I was actually planning on killing Orochimaru within three years of now. He has caused too much grief. I would like your help, at least until then."

"Very well, Sakura. Until that time, I will help you. Consider yourself lucky that I don't destroy your mind."

"I will." the pinkette laughed lightly and then the woman retreated from her mind. Jade orbs opened and looked up to see Kakashi looking down at her quizzically. Sakura blinked for a moment until giving him a sheepish smile. "I'm pretty sure I just made a new friend." Surprisingly, it was easy enough. She had only had a massive migraine for the whole night.

The copy ninja stared at her for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. "I'm not about to ask."

The kunoichi chuckled at him before her features turned serious. "By the way, sensei."

Kakashi looked at her serious expression, knowing that she was about to tell him something important.

"When we get to land, we'll be attacked."

"By who?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

"Sorry, I can't remember their names." she replied, giving him a frown. "But you know them. The worst part though is that they're wearing some kind of armor that genjutsu or ninjutsu won't work on." Kakashi frowned deeply and the pinkette could see it clearly behind his mask. "At least, not low level jutsus." she finished, grinning.

~x~

Please review what you think :) I'll try to update in a few days