Author's Note: The suspense of the last chapter ends here! (For now..)

Sasuke-kun!

A familiar voice was calling out to him, one with such familiarity that he immediately felt a wave of comfort and grace, which was extremely rare. He felt himself rising, a strong sensation pulling his chest, straining his ears to hear her voice again. Faint echoes of his name danced in and out of his ears as he tried to call back to her voice, straining his own to call out with no luck. He felt as though his mouth was stuffed with cotton, stiff and dry without the proper lubrication of saliva, causing him to choke whenever he tried to speak.

Sasuke-kun!

There she was again, calling out to him as if he were her reason for existing. She had such a desperation to her voice that it gave him a pulsing anxiety to reach her, and by not doing so he would cause her a great amount of mental pain. But, how could he get to her if he couldn't call back to her, or let her know that he heard her?

Sasuke-ku..!

Her voice began to deepen, dropping octaves slowly, her voice beginning to slow. The crisp, sweet syllables that escaped from her tongue deepened to concerned and sturdy shouts that sent revitalizing vibrations through his body. He began to feel someone shaking him roughly, as the light began to pour into his eyes.

Sasuke! Get up! Teme, get up!

Was that?…

Sasuke!

Naruto?

The darkness around him began to lighten with the silhouettes of trees blowing in the early morning breeze. The sunlight was a blinding glittering light that blinded Sasuke the moment his eyes opened. He quickly closed his sunlight sensitive eyes, and by doing so triggered the feeling to come back to his body. He felt a throbbing pain near his jaw, and he could taste his own blood. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fist into the ground, slowly raising himself up onto his knees. He brought his hand up to his face and wiped away dried blood that stuck to the corners of his lips.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

Sasuke turned to see Naruto crouched next to him, his blue eyes swimming with concern. His blonde spiky hair was ruffled up near his forehead, where Sasuke saw a faint bruise beginning to form on his skin. He was breathing heavily, looking as though he had used up a great amount of chakra, but for what?

Suddenly everything flowed back to Sasuke. He remembered waking up alone, a body missing from his side, attempting to wake Naruto from his endless slumber, not realizing that he had been under a genjutsu..

Being paralyzed and thrown off guard by her…

"Thanks for keeping me company last night.." her mocking words echoed in his ringing ears, his forehead burning from the kiss she gave him, the hair on the back of his head standing on their ends from her tightly grabbing them and smashing his face into the ground..

As if Naruto could read his thoughts, he confirmed what Sasuke was dreading.

"Sakura-chan…" he breathed "Is gone."

Sasuke slammed his fist to the ground, the cracked dirt creating a mini explosion of dust that caked his skin. He felt his mouth begin to bleed once more from the intense pressure he was placing on his teeth. The muscles in his body tightened to their utmost highest level, threatening to burst from the over exertion of pressure. His heart was palpitating rapidly, resembling a frantic rhythm that refused to stop. The same wave of fear that invaded his cells returned, this time shooting him with double the amount of the intoxicating emotion of dread.

The dread that feared for her safety.

Where was she? How far had she gone from them, and where? Whoever had taken her had clear plans to use her to get to a jinjuriki, controlling her from some unknown location to lure the two of them to find her; a sick form of ransom.

"I'll kill him.." Sasuke whispered to the ground, flashing images of Sakura's evergreen eyes in his mind, seeing his friend trapped in a stranger's body, doing actions against her will.

"We…have to save her." Naruto choked out, still weak from breaking out of the genjutsu, a bead of sweat dripping from his forehead. Just like Sasuke, his teeth were gritted tightly, trying to fight through his fatigue to rescue Sakura. Slowly, he began to rise to his feet, testing his limitless energy and stamina to fight for his friends, which always seemed to pull through for him in the end. Sasuke, however, was different. His ability to fight through pain and fatigue derived from a different source, a source that resided deep in the pit of his body. It was an indescribable power that fueled him in the rare cases that he became determined to carry out something. And now it was fueling his body, flushing out the fear, because it was for her; it would always be for her.

"I..can't believe this happened.." Sasuke heard Naruto hiss, cursing himself over and over again. Sasuke, still looking at his clenched fist, rose from the ground slowly, allowing his legs to get used to bearing his weight. His body had recovered from the paralysis, his limbs slowly obeying his commands.

"Naruto, what exactly happened? When did she..?" Sasuke asked, not finishing his sentence, the syllables refusing to be released from his tongue.

Naruto shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. "She was acting strange. When we were talking, she kept grabbing her head, she looked like she was in pain; though she said that she was fine. But the worst thing was that she looked frightened, terrified even. But now I know that it was him, he got into her mind again and I think..he was speaking with her..then.." Naruto said, grunting in frustration. "I saw her face when she attacked me. As soon as she placed the genjutsu on me, she looked like she had killed someone by accident; she was terrified! Before I went down, I just knew that she had done it against her will, that she was being controlled."

Anger pulsated through Sasuke's body at what he just heard, though Naruto's ordeal had gone different from Sasuke's. Naruto said that Sakura placed a genjutsu on him against her will, and that she was scared. However, the Sakura that he witnessed was cunning, tricking him into believing that she was completely normal. The Sakura he witnessed was violent and mocking, which had to mean that placing a genjutsu on Naruto triggered her controller's power of her.

"She just..it came out of nowhere…and.." Naruto's voice trailed off, then stopping abruptly.

When Sasuke heard Naruto's speech pause, he finally looked over to him to see the overwhelming look of disbelief that was stamped on Naruto's face. His blue eyes swam with shock, widened to their limit. His lips were parted, shaking slightly as if he was fighting to release his voice; he looked as though his throat had closed up. Sasuke blinked in confusion at the intense expression Naruto was giving to the air, making Sasuke's stomach drop instantly.

"No…she couldn't have…" he whispered, fear spreading on his face.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

Naruto didn't respond, still occupied with the thoughts racing in his mind that Sasuke still had yet to know. When Naruto finally turned to Sasuke, his fear turned to anguish.

"She knew. I don't know how, but somehow she knew that he would come back for her. That's why she.."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "She what?"

Naruto shook his head multiple times as if to shake out his answer. He looked to Sasuke with a look that Sasuke couldn't describe. Was it remorse? Sadness? Anger? Each one seemed fitting..

"She wanted me to promise her something."

Sasuke's mouth was set in a tight line, his eyes turning to steel. "And?"

Naruto said nothing, looking guiltily down at his feet.

In a blazing anger of suspense, Sasuke shot forward and grabbed the collar of Naruto's jacket, digging his fingernails into the material.

"Naruto, what did she ask you?!"

Plink

She felt a freezing drop of water splash onto her burning forehead, sending chills down her entire stiff body. The cold strangely began to fuel her, filling her with feeling; she was able to move her fingers slowly and flex a few leg muscles. She could feel herself lying on a flat, rocky surface; the sharp rock that was pushing itself into her back telling her that she was surrounded by them. Sakura's eyes slowly began to flutter open, and she was greeted with a soft green glow of candlelight that flowed onto her eyes. It wasn't until she rose her torso from the ground slowly and shakily that she saw green crystals sticking out of the walls around her, emitting their soft green glow onto the flames of small candles surrounding her; the fire not the ultimate source of green light.

Sakura raised her hand to her pounding head, applying pressure to help ease the pain. Even with her eyes closed, the room swam before her eyes, or could she even call it a room? It looked more like a cave; a small dome made up of rocks and the strange green crystals that stuck out from the rugged walls. Tilting her head slowly upwards, she took in the height of the ceiling, which was nothing short of darkness; nothing visible but the small specks of green crystals.

Where was she?

"So, you're finally awake."

A small gasp escaped her lips while her heart jumped into her ribcage. Her head rapidly flew from left to right, though she instantly regretted her actions once she felt an intense wave of dizziness invade her head.

A voice..a female voice spoke out to her just now. She thought that she was alone; wherever she was. But apparently, she was not alone; there was someone with her in this small cave, and she couldn't help but think that the voice was strangely familiar.

Her eyes danced around the cave until they stopped at a darkened shadow across from her. Glancing at it quickly, anyone would just assume that it was just a natural shadow of the cave, minding its own darkening spot. However, once her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could make out a silhouette curled up against the wall under the shadows of the rocks, moving slightly. She saw the figure stretch out her legs, raising her arms above her head. Sakura heard a high pitched yawn followed by a satisfied sigh.

"It's about time too, I thought you'd be lying there forever!"

Sakura blinked in confusion. So many words shot up and got caught in her throat that she could choke on them; though the only word that she could manage was "What?"

Light laughter filled her ears, echoing throughout the cave; though this time it felt half-hearted, maybe even quarter-hearted. "Sorry, it's just that when he brought me here I was only out for at least an hour. You, on the other hand, have been asleep for far too long."

Sakura frowned, never being more confused in her life.

"What are you-" she began when her stomach instantly dropped as her mind caught up with her. She remembered forming strange and unfamiliar hand signs and jabbing Naruto's forehead to place him under a genjutsu; being forced by the voice invading her head and controlling her body like a puppet, though no chakra strings were attached. She remembered the icy dread that flowed into her head when she watched Naruto fall against the ground, her throat closing up to prevent her from screaming out his name. Then, the darkness that followed..

"No.." Sakura whispered, bringing her hand up to cover her opened mouth, tears budding in the corners of her eyes. How could she have let this happen? And why now?

"It wasn't your fault." the voice said softly, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts. "Once he gets into your head, he can almost always get back in, no matter how hard you fight back."

Sakura shivered. There it was again, the sticking suspicion that she had heard that voice before, thinking her theory to be too real for her to just imagine in her head-

Something clicked in Sakura's head; the voice suddenly had a place in her memory.

"It's you.." She whispered softly, her eyes widened.

Sakura's eyes were now adjusted to the dark, and they focused on the glowing amber eyes of the girl standing before her, their shade a bit darker than Tsunade's. She was wearing an outfit similar to Ino's natural attire, minus her friend's signature dark violet. The girl in front of her wore white, with a red fabric draped in an 'x' shape across her shoulders and torso, which was attached to a giant scroll shaped pack on her back. Her tan stomach was fully exposed to the moist air around them, her skin glistening. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, muscular yet still feminine, and Sakura noticed a hidden village headband tied onto her left arm; though it was still too dark to see the insignia etched onto the metal.

"Is it you?" Sakura mentally threw into the air, watching the girl's eyes widen for a moment, then lessen to their normal almond shape.

I guess so! Sakura heard in her head almost immediately, feeling air leave her lungs in a rush of strange relief.

She found her, maybe not in the exact manner that Sakura had hoped for, but she found her. The mysterious voice in her head would finally have a picture to go with the pitch of her speech, though it wasn't how Sakura pictured her to be; though she really didn't have any idea of what to think she looked like in the first place. None of it mattered now.

The only thing that mattered was escaping.

"What is this place?" Sakura asked, tracing the walls of the domed cave with her eyes.

The girl sighed. "I know about as much as you do, though I can't say how many days I've spent in here. My guess is that it's his way of keeping us away from the outside."

His.. That's right, she had totally forgotten in the hype of the moment..

Sakura clenched her fist and narrowed her eyes to the ceiling. "Well, wherever we are, there's got to be an exit, and we're going to find it. We'll get out of here."

The girl looked at Sakura with a shocked expression, her amber eyes widened as if Sakura had suggested something that would never happen in a million years. But finally, her expression melted to match Sakura's, and her glossy lips parted in a small smile.

"But, there's something else we have to do first."

Now it was Sakura's turn to be in question, furrowing her brow. "What's that?"

The girl smiled, her eyes glittering with amusement. "We have to tell each other our names; I won't want to accomplish this with a stranger, you know."

Sakura blinked. Of course, how could she be so dense? She remembered the first time they talked, Sakura frantically calling out to her voice to be given a name. And now she would finally get a name.

Sakura smiled, and held out her gloved hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

The girl smiled back and took Sakura's hand in her own, eyes glittering. "I'm Fuu-"

A soft humming sound cut off the girls' speech, vibrating throughout the cave. Fuu released Sakura's hand, and the girl's heads shot up. The walls began to vibrate softly, though none of the rocks seemed to be disturbed.

What is this? Sakura thought to herself, believing that they were witnessing some sort of earthquake or rock slide.

A soft green glow caught Sakura's eye right above Fuu's head, clicking to life with an unfamiliar power. Sakura squinted her eyes, and saw the crystal that was emitting the light. A few seconds later, another crystal lit, triggering more green lights to shine on the two girls. Sakura's head spun around her as her eyes reflected the image of a thousand crystals shining down on them.

"Shit!"

Sakura's head flew to her side, seeing Fuu's eyes widened in apprehension, scanning the walls as if insects were crawling towards them ready to devour her.

"Fuu-" Sakura began to say, but choked when Fuu's scared look turned to a serious urgency

"Get down!" she yelled

Sakura's heart began to palpitate, not understanding the urgency of the situation. "What are you-"

"Now!" Fuu yelled as a blinding green light filled the entire cave.

Sakura felt herself being pushed roughly onto the ground, her cheek smashing against a stray rock. Her arm had shot out on instinct and she ultimately protected her torso from making contact with the ground. Her legs gave out when she fell to the ground, and were now uselessly tangled in loose rocks on the ground. Her eyes were tightly shut, the light too blinding.

What just happened?

Slowly, as if her thoughts sought to answer her, the light began to fade, darkening the inside of Sakura's eyelids. The humming of the crystals became muffled, as if she had stepped into a shower to muffle the outside noise.

Gently rolling her tongue on the inside of her sore cheek, she propped herself up on her elbow and slowly looked up.

"Fuu, are you-" Sakura choked out until her lungs disbanded and released their valuable oxygen.

Fuu was standing above her as if the events that happened only seconds ago never happened; though her face was a different story. She looked at Sakura as if she had done something wrong, something risky enough to make Sakura angry or scared. Sakura opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but lost her words after she saw it.

It started from the back of Fuu's shaking shoulder, opened and spread out around them like a giant cocoon or a shield; a giant wing that resembled some sort of insect. The green tipped orange wing almost matched Fuu's eyes, giant enough to cast its own orange shadow over them. Sakura's widened eyes traced the wing from Fuu's back to out in the open, blocking the harsh light that sought to devour the girls.

No..there was no way..

But it must be true, no human she knew would be able to sprout the limbs of an animal, and with such precision and stealthiness. Sakura could feel the chilling chakra that surrounded her and Fuu, giving Sakura goosebumps. Although this chakra wasn't fully visible, it was no different from another chakra that she knew so well, chakra that she had fought beside and chakra that once injured her.

Naruto's chakra.

Sakura's astonished eyes met with Fuu's cautious ones, and she didn't stop the words that came to her tongue.

"You're..a jinchūriki.."

Surprise! I've had this idea for the story since the first chapter, and I'm so glad that I caught up with my thoughts to write this one! I wanted to include another jinjuriki from the manga since the only ones that have interacted with Naruto and the others have been Gaara and Killer Bee (Not counting Utakata from that filler arc) Also, we've only heard Fuu talk at least once (?) in the anime, and from that episode I got that she's a very bright character, but besides that I didn't get much else from her; which gives me an opportunity to add to her character, and I'm so excited to do that! Some action will be coming up soon, so stay tuned! xx