-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?


Alright! A new chapter! So let's see… Do I have anything good to say? Um… Nope, not really… Let me think harder… Um… Oh, this chapter's beginning is more on the comedic side, but it gets better! And… Um… It's a short chapter, this time… Sorry! But I hope you enjoy it!


Episode Twelve
~Her Anxiety~

"Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke's mission should have been completed by now, and yet he is not back. Should I send some shinobi to check things out?"

The snake Sannin brooded over it for a moment. It was very unlike the Uchiha to take his time. He had always finished with extra time to spare. Never once did this happen before. Perhaps something had come up. But then again, Sasuke was not usually one to be unable to handle himself. And yet, with this thought, Orochimaru's face lit up with a wicked smile. "Actually," he said, chuckling a bit. "I have a better idea."

✿。.:**:.。✿

Sakura groaned, using her arm as a pillow. She was back to being bored to death. Yes, she was beginning to forget her anger at the Uchiha. In fact, she had been ready to apologize to him for acting so . . . well, vulgar. Kicking him out of his room and forcing him to share one with Kabuto, she admit, was maybe a bit overboard, but who could blame her? She had been furious—no, maybe even more than that. A new word could have been invented just for her! But when she had been ready to apologize, oh, that chance slipped right past her.

When he had come into the room, he had immediately told her that Orochimaru had just assigned him a mission. For what, Sakura didn't know. But after he spoke, she lost whatever courage she had, and she couldn't even speak a word to the Uchiha before he left. Not a single word! Oh, how frustrated with herself she had been! She had been killing herself over that. He was her ex-teammate. If she had to apologize then she should have gotten it done and over with rather quickly. He may not have acknowledged it, but still! Why she froze up whenever she saw him now was beyond her! So what if he tried to kill Naruto twice? So what if he was Orochimaru's star pupil? So what if he was Uchiha Sasuke? She was Tsunade's apprentice turned hunter-nin, for crying out loud! Sakura knew she should have some self-respect, but really now! Oh, she was just frustrated thinking about it.

She glanced over at her little companion. "You're lucky. You know that, Kiki?" she asked. "You don't have to worry about stupid human things like apologies or even friends! And—"

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

Sakura jumped from the bed. She hadn't even heard the door open. "Oh . . . no, it's . . . it's fine. What is it you want, Kabuto?"

"Why is it that, every time I come here, you ask that?" the boy asked. "Can't I come to check up on a friend?"

"Well, considering that we aren't friends, I'd have to say no. You can't. Why are you here?" she asked again, her fist ready to punch him to a pulp if he didn't leave soon.

"Fine, I'll get to my point then. Sasuke's missing."

That information hit Sakura almost as if she had been hit with Naruto's rasengan. "What? What do you mean?" Her legs almost went limp. For a shinobi, the word "missing" in the same sentence as one of their beloved ones was as bad as the word "dead."

"His mission was suppose to have been completed by now, and he's usually back right after he's done so." Kabuto explained. "However, he's not. Orochimaru-sama is getting a tad worried. He'd appreciate it if you go and check things out for him."

Sakura didn't say a thing at first. She had to be careful. Were they planning something? " . . . Why me, though?" she asked., watching the boy's every move "The Sannin has a whole army of Oto nin. Why doesn't he send them?"

"Well, Orochimaru-sama thinks you'll be able to handle it." Kabuto answered, but then he shrugged. From the way his voice was toned, it sounded as if he didn't believe Sakura was up to the job. "Nevertheless, if you don't want to do it then I'll be sure to tell Orochimaru to send someone else." His words were so nonchalant. It was hard to tell if he was actually worried or not.

He placed a scroll on the bed and then walked to the door, taking his time to close it. "Oh, and no pressure but…" The door didn't close all the way, showing a silver of the boy's face. And on that face was an impious smile. Sakura could feel the shivers going up her spine, the hair on her neck standing. "I don't think you'd like it if Sasuke died. After all, it would be on your conscience. If you refuse to go then one of the lesser medics would have to. And I doubt they'd be as highly skilled as you." And then the door shut completely.

Sakura's mind was jumbled with thoughts. She didn't even notice when she sat on the bed. Sasuke was . . . missing. He was missing! MIA, missing in action. Maybe even in danger or even close to death. But why should I care? If the situation had been turned around, he wouldn't even come and save me. And if he died then . . . one less criminal in the world… But looking at the scroll Kabuto had left, she couldn't help but feel as though she had done something scandalous.

"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

"Oh . . . I hate you so much right now, Kakashi-sensei!" She took the scroll, jumping off the bed, and put it inside her backpack. It was a very small thing, she realized. She wouldn't, couldn't, leave her comrade. "Kiki! Come on!"

But the dog barked, pointing her paw at her.

Sakura looked down and immediately realized what Kiki was getting at. "Oh…" Even though there was no one else in the room, her face still turned red. If one was going on a mission, one did not wear pajamas. "But what am I supposed to do?" she asked. "My clothes are all worn out already!"

"Arf!" This time, Kiki pointed at the sliding door on the other side of the room.

"You're . . . kidding, right?" Sakura asked, disbelief colored her voice. She wondered if this was the dog's new way of teasing her. "Even if I don't die from embarrassment, Sasuke's going to kill me for going through his closet!"

"Arf!"

"Well…" She put a hand to her chin, thinking about her choices. "You're right in that he probably wouldn't even care but, if he does, do you have any idea how dead I'd be?"

"Arf!"

"I'd rather die from embarrassment!"

"Arf!"

"Okay, fine, you got me there, but—"

"ARF!"

"Okay, fine, fine… Sheesh, no need to be so loud." She walked towards the closet. However, her eyes kept shifting to the dog, just hoping that Kiki would somehow change her mind. But the miracle didn't come, and Sakura made it across the room, her hand hesitating on the door knob. What if the Uchiha had rigged the thing so that it'd shock anyone who touched it? What if he made it so that a thousand and one swords shot out of the walls and impaled whatever intruder dared to open his closet door? What if flaming arrows shot out and—okay, maybe she was being paranoid there, but he did have a lot of fangirls, whether it be in Konoha or in Oto. He'd be an idiot if he hadn't set up any precautions.

But when Sakura touched the door, nothing happened. And when she opened the closet, again, nothing happened. Okay, so maybe Sasuke was an idiot. Didn't he know that, if his fangirls ever found out about his easy-to-access closet, his whole wardrobe would be on the Ninja-net? (A/N: Get it?)

And so now, Sakura's eyes raced through her options, and the most asked question for a girl ran through her mind. What was she to wear? "Gee, you think he'd have more outfits since he's Sasuke and all…" There wasn't really much of a choice, and so that was the hard part. "Maybe I can wear one of my outfits. I mean, they're not that old."

But Kiki wouldn't have it. The little pooch ran under the rosette's legs and stood on her hind legs, her front paws on a specific outfit. "Arf!"

"You have got to be joking! That—it—kill me—I can't—you can't possibly—Kiki, why are you doing this to me?"

✿。.:**:.。✿

"So . . . she decided to go…"

"Yes, although she seemed a bit reluctant at first…"

A chuckle. "As to be expected. Sasuke-kun did do so many unforgivable things to her and her friends… Of course, she'd be less than willing to help him at first, but she is not the kind of person that will not lend her assistance to a person in trouble. And under Kakashi's tutelage, that has become one of her biggest weaknesses."

"Yes, but . . ."

"What is it, Kabuto?"

"Was she wearing Sasuke's clothes just now?"

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

"It's the boy's own fault if he doesn't guard his own clothes. He does have many fangirls. It would be troublesome if they found out about his unprotected closet."

✿。.:**:.。✿

The sun blazed down on the kunoichi, small beads of sweat decorated her forehead. Kiki, on the other hand, walked in the girl's shadow, and so the little dog did not feel the heat at all. However, in this crowded town, the Akita Inu was having a small bit of trouble keeping up with her owner. After all, double tasking follow-the-leader with try-not-to-get-stepped-on proved to be very difficult.

"Oh, come here, Kiki." Sakura picked the little pup up, holding her in her arms. "Now, if I was Sasuke and I was on a mission, which hotel would I stay at?" Though it was a small town, it served as a tourist attraction, and so having one hotel was definitely not enough. There were probably about ten in the area. She knew that, if the Uchiha had been in a critical condition, it'd be a waste of time for her to search through each of the hotel one by one.

"Arf!"

"Oh, you're right, Kiki!"

After Kiki was placed on the ground again, Sakura looked through her backpack. It took a while before she found the wanted item. Oh, why didn't she think of this before? Taking the small card Hinata had given in hand, she added her chakra to it and said, "Show me where Sasuke is."

✿。.:**:.。✿

After picking the lock, the door creaked open. With only the light from the hallway, Sakura found it hard to make out anything in the room. "Sasuke-kun?" she asked, slowly widening the door. She flipped the light switch and saw that the room was empty of occupants. "That's strange…" She scratched her head. "I could have sworn this was the right room."

Suddenly, her eyes flickered to a red spot on the bed. She rushed over to the bed, a possibility of what the liquid was in her mind. She traced her fingers over the crimson stain. Her eyes widened. "Blood…" He had been there. The evidence was fresh, still wet. "But where could he have—"

The mark on her arm throbbed, and abruptly a sword pressed up against her throat. Her heart skipped a beat, both in fear and relief in that she found who she was looking for.

"I already knew this is how you treat Naruto, but I always thought you would treat me differently from him. Since when have you fallen so low, Sasuke-kun?"

Instantly, the sword left her neck. Sasuke stared at her with stupefied wonder. To say that Sakura was surprised by his appearance was somewhat correct, but she had expected that he had hidden, thinking she was an unknown enemy. She wondered why he hid, though. He usually took a more offensive approach in a less sneaky way. She got her answer when she saw the bright red blotches on the Uchiha's clothing and his blood dripping onto the floor.

"You're injured," she said, her hand reaching to touch him.

But Sasuke stepped away from her, suspicion wavered on his face.

"What are you…?"

His hostile eyes took in her appearance, everything about her.

She would have laughed if he hadn't been bleeding. "I'm not the enemy, and this isn't a genjutsu if that's what you think, Sasuke-kun." She had out her marked hand, trying to prove her point.

His eyes soon returned to their normal black and, once Sakura was within proximity of him, he rested his head against her shoulder, using her as a support.

He must have lost a lot of blood… she concluded from his actions and how much blood covered his garments and the furniture. "Can you walk?"

He grunted, something Sakura took as a yes. And she led him to the bed, laying him on his back, so that she could examine his wound. After exposing his chest, she realized that the injury was worse than she had thought.

"What did you get yourself into…?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."

She gasped, turning around. If it had been an enemy then it would have been terrible. She was unarmed, and she had just been caught with her guard down. Fortunately, it wasn't a foe. But how lucky she was, she didn't know, for the person who leaned against the opposite wall was none other than…

"Jiraiya-sama!"

"Heh, I knew something was up when you didn't show up for our last three meetings." His lips were pulled into a thin line and his face grim. Sakura had never seen him so serious before.


Ugh! I hate it! It's so short! Sorry, you guys! But please understand! I'm having major writing's block on a lot of my stories, and so I really couldn't find a way to continue this chapter. I need to think out Jiraiya's conversation with Sakura in this. And I still need a strong mission for Naruto to go on. So . . . please wait a bit for me to get things straightened out! Thank you and please review!