"What? How could this happen? Why –"

"We believe it has to do with her incredible chakra control and her perceptive mind. Her adaptive skills are phenomenal. If Orochimaru got his hands on her, he could learn any jutsu he wanted."

"So…what then?"

"Orochimaru was about halfway done with his jutsu when we stopped him. Orochimaru and Kabuto instantly fled. We quickly retrieved Sakura and left the premises before we were stopped," Tsubasu continued, glancing down as if he was picturing the past events. "When Sakura woke up, she told us she wanted to go after Orochimaru and stop him. We offered going with her and we became Team Tsuki."

"Why didn't she let her village know she was okay? Why hide in secret?" he asked, remembering the depressed look Naruto gave when telling him about her disappearance. Tsubasu almost shrugged, if not fully understanding it himself.

"She's too stubborn," he began. "She didn't want anyone from her village getting involved because she didn't want anyone to get hurt. She felt as though this was something she needed to do herself." Sasuke observed her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful while sleeping, but while awake, you could see the trouble that settled in her eyes.

Surprise, rage, and confusion were coursing throughout his mind. Haruno Sakura, the young, innocent girl he once knew, was the victim of Orochimaru's schemes; the same, young girl who risked his life for him, who smiled at him every morning before training, who constantly worried about him, who loved him.

He sat back against the chair that was seated in next to Sakura's bed, keeping his eyes on Sakura's battered form. The other three had departed back to the hotel, trusting Sasuke to carefully watch over her. He sat there for endless hours, watching the unconscious girl in complete silence as he was mentally battling himself.

How could this have happened? Sasuke didn't kill Orochimaru. If Sasuke had truly gotten rid of him, she wouldn't have gone through all this pain. She would be in Konoha with her friends, her family, with him.

He leaned forward, placing his face in his hands and letting out the breath he had been holding – as if it would make things a little better. No matter how much he tried to deny it, it was his fault. Orochimaru was still alive somehow.

"Here and now! The chance I've been waiting for!" Orochimaru shouted at the top of his lungs as his body emitted from the mouth of a snake. "And it's all thanks to you forcing Sasuke-kun to expend the chakra he used to keep me suppressed!" he hissed at the top of his lungs as he could feel himself getting stronger. Itachi merely closed his eyes in response. "I'll take his body for my own and defeat –"

He was interrupted when a prodigious blade struck him through his torso, creating a vulgar sound of the tearing of skin and muscles. "-You?" he finished with a surprised expression.

"All right, Sasuke," Itachi started with a smile on his face. "Got anything else?"

"Ku-hu-hu," Orochimaru laughed sinisterly. "Do don't really think a little cut like this will be enough to stop me –"

His eyes widened in fear and pain, stopping him from finishing his sentence.

"Th-This can't be…the Sword of Totsuka?!" he shouted. "Itachi, you had it all along?" His body was then sucked away into a genjutsu that would supposedly trap him for all eternity, and the curse mark was forever removed from plaguing Sasuke's body.

Itachi used the Sword of Totsuka to seal him away forever. How could he have escaped? How could he capture her? Things didn't add up.

He gazed back up at the pink-haired girl before him and then to the curse mark on her left shoulder. Her screams seemed to echo through his mind along with Orochimaru's golden eyes and smirking face. She didn't deserve this at all. Why her? Why did all of this happen?

His eyes soon began to become heavy. Not too long later, he put his head down on his arms, quickly falling asleep with the pink-haired girl on his mind.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. Everything was instantly blurry, causing her to want to shake her head to rid the uneasiness she was feeling. Her head turned to the left upon feeling someone next to her, sighting Sasuke sleeping soundlessly in a chair. She thought for a moment, almost laughing out loud.

How ironic.

She took off the breathing mask and slowly sat up, clenching her head in pain once she did. It was throbbing immensely as a headache began to form at her temples. She put her back against the bedframe and rubbed her them in a circular motion. Damn. She took a pretty hard hit to the head.

"Sakura?" she heard Sasuke ask. She stopped massaging her temples to look over to Sasuke, who had readjusted himself to look at her. "Are you okay?" he asked stoically.

Her head subconsciously nodded, leaning the back of her skull against the frame and closing her eyes. She didn't have much strength to even talk at the moment, but she muttered a reply.

"Yeah," she breathed out. He observed her weak form, taking in the memory of her screaming on the ground in pain.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked right away. She didn't move, pondering about it for a moment.

"How could I?" she asked in return, lifting her head to meet his gaze. His face was usually emotionless, but she caught a small hint of concern, confusion, and irritation in his eyes.

"I'm part of this team now, remember?" he started off. "I deserve to know." She sighed, folding her hands in her lap and looking down.

"Well, it's not like it's something I'm proud of," she stated as a tingle ran up her shoulder as she thought about it.

"I want to know everything; from your point of view," he said, emphasizing the last part. Sakura looked over at him.

"I'm guessing Tsubasu told you?" she asked, causing him to nod in response.

She leaned back once more, sitting in a more comfortable position before looking out the window, trying to think of where to start.

"All right," she started off again. "I came home one night from training, and I found my parents on the floor, dead."

She clenched her hands into fists as the memory came running through her mind.

"Kabuto was there. Before I could process anything, I was knocked out cold. Next thing I know, I've got the curse mark." She shut her eyes as her head hung low. Hate and sadness began coursing through her, but she calmed herself down. "Every day, I was forced to train to get stronger. If I didn't oblige, I was beaten. Most of my time was either spent on the training field or getting beat to death," she started off, clenching her hands into fists. "I slept in a rotten cell every night, my hands shackled to the ceiling above me."

Sasuke glared just thinking about it.

"They took away most of my chakra, but I was given enough to train and get stronger. Every time I asked to see Orochimaru or Kabuto, they just shook their heads and pretended they didn't hear me," she stated, still confused as to why she was kept away from them. "However, after a year of living in hell, I finally saw them again."

My left eye was completely swollen, preventing my vision from becoming clear. My whole body was numbed from a poison that someone had earlier injected; although it wasn't an easy task because I just wasn't about to just give up. I was currently being dragged down the dark corridors by two men; heaving me by my arms. I could barely feel my legs anymore; the guards were just dragging me carelessly now. I couldn't lift my head up, but I occasionally tried to look up to see which direction we were heading to.

Before the injection of the temporary toxin, I was brutally beaten. They had also taken a great majority of my chakra, causing me to rely solely on my taijutsu skills. However, I hadn't stood a chance against my captures. I listened carefully to what they were saying – I heard them talking in quick mutters about Orochimaru's plan coming into action. This is how I knew he had something planned for me, and I could tell this isn't something I wanted to be a part of.

So, as they dragged me down the passageway, I was drastically trying to think of a last minute plan, a last disappearing act like a magician would perform; but, I was afraid that this was the end of the line for me. The stares of the people in the jail cells dug into my body like a piercing blade. I heaved my head up with the little strength I had left to look at them. Going by, a few sets of eyes caught my gaze, and I found myself staring into them. I don't know why I did so, but there was an emotion within them that seemed so foreign to me now…it was hope. I was drawn to that.

We had finally reached Orochimaru's grand room, and the doors to the large room were immediately opened before we even reached them. The two large men dragging me quickly entered inside, and the doors shut behind us. They didn't stop as darkness consumed the room. But, a few seconds later, candles were suddenly lit throughout the room – against the walls, hanging from the roof, and scattered all around the floor in a large circle. There were two seats facing each other in the middle of the circle. Fear began coursing inside my body like a hell-bound flame.

They threw me in the chair that was closest to the doors. I lazily sat back into it, too tired to move a muscle to even curl my fingers. They tied me to the chair by my legs, and then tied my arms to the rests of the chair. My head hung in exhaustion as the men stood up in attention and quickly left the room, opening and shutting the doors behind them. The only noise that filled the room was my heavy breathing and the small footsteps that seemed to encircle me. I kept my head down and refused to look up at the figure that now stood in front of me with a wild smirk on his face.

"I'm so glad you're here, SSSSSSSakura-chhhhhhhhhan," he slithered out sinisterly. My stubbornness became the best of me as I ignored his greeting. He menacingly chuckled at my quietness as I heard him sit down in the chair in front of me. I felt another person, most likely Kabuto, stand beside him and also tie him to the chair he was sitting on. I looked up in curiosity.

"Don't worry, Sakura-san, all of your pain will soon be over," Kabuto said as he walked over to me and secured the rope around my limbs. I'm pretty sure they would have gone numb if I hadn't already lost all the feeling in my body. I glared at Kabuto with the little strength I had left and growled out of anger. He ignored the action and bowed to Orochimaru. "Whenever you're ready, Orochimaru-sama," he finished. Orochimaru smirked devilishly in response.

"Good," he said, closing his eyes. I watched him carefully as his head seemed to lifelessly fall to his chest. A sense of hope coursed through my body until I noticed the palms of his hands glow purple. My eyes widened as it began trailing around his body, down the chair, around the circle, and then slowly up my body. I automatically stiffened as this strange, yet familiar chakra surrounded me. I tried to use the last bit of energy to break the rope as I became very frantic.

"Wh-What's going on?" I stuttered out.

"Just relax, Sakura-san," I heard Kabuto's surprisingly soothing voice say, but I was no fool.

The large space in between us suddenly became very heavy. I stared at his seemingly lifeless body. My eyes widened when a cloud of chakra was all of a sudden in between us, as if it was acting as a bridge between him and I.

Panic filled my mind as I tried to use the last bit of chakra inside me to break the rope that held me to the chair. I lifted the palms of my hands to the ceiling and fisted them, pulling upward to try to snap the rope, but it was no use – they took all the strength I had left. My eyes wandered back at Orochimaru when I heard him squirm in his seat. His head quickly lifted, making me flinch in shock, and his mouth opened as wide as it could.

"Now; you're mine!" he screeched, bringing back memories of the first night I was here when he gave me the curse mark. Except, this time, it was much different. He screamed painfully as an energy emitted out of his mouth. It made its way out of his body and slowly reached out to me.

My eyes widened in fear and my entire body began shaking. It was as if adrenaline started coursing through my body. I gasped loudly and began thrashing my body around, but the seat didn't budge as it seemed to be plastered to the ground beneath me. I was only about seven feet away from Orochimaru and the entity slowly made its way over to me. I then, after a year of living under Orochimaru's custody, realized exactly what he wanted with me.

I was to be his next vessel.

Tears filled my eyes and I tightly closed them, not wanting them to fall. I again used all the strength I had left into lashing my body around; but, it was still no use – the chair was stalwartly attached to the ground. I then screamed as loud as I could, making it crack. It echoed through the room and could probably be heard by all of the people throughout the lair.

I looked up again, seeing the presence only a foot away from me. I pushed myself against the stone chair behind me, hoping that I was too far out of reach for it to grasp me. But, my hope was beginning to drain as I felt it grab my face. My eyes widened as my mouth proceeded also, and the being began filling in my torso, and slowly, it began taking over my body.

My vision began to blur as the chakra began coursing through my form. I was about to throw all of my dreams away until I heard something abnormal around me.

There were many screams filling the room. An explosion suddenly erupted behind me and footsteps of people running, though I couldn't clearly locate it. Then, to my surprise, I heard another explosion in front of me. My seat jerked back from its position and I hit the hard ground, still attached to the stone chair. I began going into a coughing riot as blood rolled down my lips. I then laid my head back on the ground, looking behind me. The large double doors were no longer there with a large amount of smoke in its place. I saw three figures run into the room, followed by a defiant scream that I would never forget.

"No!" Orochimaru shouted. It was then that I realized that his spirit that tried entering into my body was pushed out of me from the explosion. My hope had returned.

I looked at the rope that was holding me to the chair. It was now almost torn to pieces from the blast. My vision became hazy again as I shook it off and tried removing the rope from my wrists, but it was no use. My energy was completely gone. Three figures appeared at my side, which made me jolt.

"It's all right; you're gonna be okay now," a soft voice said. My face turned towards him, but the darkness covered his face. The other figure beside him picked me up bridle-style and I relaxed in his arms. It was then I noticed that these were the three same men who I saw with hope glistening in their eyes. I was saved by my new three heroes. As my body and mind relaxed, I quickly fell unconscious.

I hastily jolted upward, gasping for air. However, I instantly regretted this when pain shot up my body. My hand instantaneously grabbed my torso to try to stop the pain. Once it subsided, my eyes glanced around the area, not finding it to be familiar to me. I was carefully placed in a small sleeping bag with a backpack under my head for support. Where was I? After a few seconds of thinking, everything had quickly flooded back into my mind. I was rescued by those three men. I looked over, seeing a campfire with three figures surrounded around it. My eyes immediately widened.

My heroes.

"Hey," one of them said soothingly, standing up and about to walk over to me. "Are you all ri –"

"Why?" I said immediately, cutting him off. I took a second to think about my question. "Why did you save me?" I asked again, with more detail as I straightened my composure. The three figures simply stared at me, as if looking for the answer themselves.

"We couldn't let Orochimaru take over another innocent person," the stronger voice said, staring at the fire. The figure across from him smirked.

"Yeah, especially a pretty lady like yourself," he said cheerfully, standing up and walking over to me, passing the first figure that stood up. "I'm Nakano Daichi. Nice to meet ya, kid," he said with a smirk that showed his canine teeth. I blinked a few times, but then he took my own hand and shook it. The first figure also walked up to me with a warm smile across his face.

"My name is Yamada Ryuu," he said compassionately while taking my hand and kissing the top of it, making me blush slightly.

"Yotsuki Tsubasu," the figure who was still sitting by the fire stated. I looked at him from between Ryuu and Daichi. Observing Tsubasu carefully, I could tell that he was from the famous Yotsuki Clan from Kumogakure.

"It's nice to meet you," I said awkwardly, not sure of what else to say. Daichi grabbed my hand and pointed to the fire.

"Come sit with us, pretty lady." I could see that Ryuu was about to object, but ignored it as I stood up and walked over with them. I sat beside Daichi in front of the fire as Ryuu handed me some fish and I began eating.

"Arigatou," I said as I took a bite of the fish. This was the most food I've had in days.

"So, you never told us your name, Pinky," Daichi said with a smirk, giving me a quirky nickname from the color of my hair. I scowled, sticking my tongue in a playful manner.

"My name is Haruno Sakura," I replied. "And don't call me Pinky," I said, causing Daichi and Ryuu to laugh at the tone of my voice. Ryuu stopped laughing, looking at me in the light and staring at my wounds.

"Maybe you should go rest, Sakura-san. You're wounded," he said with a concerned tone. I smiled warmly and shook it off.

"Oh, it's no problem," I said putting the fish beside me and pumping chakra into my hand. I placed my palm on my eye, and after a few minutes, I removed it to uncover a perfectly cured eye. "See? I heal easy." They all stared at me in amazement.

"Wow! That's awesome, Sakura-chan!" Daichi said with his scratchy voice. I couldn't help but smile in response. He reminded me so much of Naruto.

"You're a medic," Tsubasu stated. I nodded in response.

"Hai."

"That's good!" Ryuu replied. "You can heal yourself quickly once you've regained chakra." I merely nodded in response. After a few minutes of silence, I finished half of my fish and stared at the fire questionably. Ryuu noticed this immediately. "Is there something wrong?" he asked me. I looked up from the fire into his silver eyes.

"Well, I just wanted to know…Orochimaru…is he…?" I asked as my question faded, not really certain how to put my thoughts into words.

"No, he's not dead. He got away with Kabuto before we could get a chance to kill him," Tsubasu said, placing his two hands behind him and leaning backwards. I stared back into the fire also, clearly disappointed.

"Oh," I said, not exactly knowing what else to say. I didn't know what to think either. Would Orochimaru come back after me? Would he find a new vessel?

"What are you going to do now, Sakura-san?" I heard Ryuu ask me. This question was not something that had entered my mind until now. I stared at the stars above us. Returning to Konoha immediately grabbed my attention. That was something I definitely wanted to do, but what about Orochimaru?

"Well, I was going to return home, but now…" I stuttered off. I couldn't go home, not yet. Orochimaru is still roaming free and alive out there. I also leaned back on my two hands as I stared at the stars. Everyone else then stared at me. My nails dug deeply into the dirt beneath my hands, forming lines from my fingernails. "I want to go after Orochimaru." Ryuu's eyes widened.

"What? Why? Are you crazy? He'll just try to use you as his body again!" Ryuu objected as Tsubasu shook his head.

"No, he can't. Not for another three years. He doesn't have enough energy now since his attempt failed. He'll probably just go into hiding until he's ready for his next body transformation," Tsubasu replied. Ryuu then nodded in response. I then looked at them determinedly.

"Then, I know what I'll do. I'll find Orochimaru and end him. I don't want him doing to anyone else what he did to us. He's dangerous and he needs to be killed," I said staring at the fire intently.

"You can't just go by yourself." Ryuu exclaimed. I immediately frowned. He was right, how could I defeat Orochimaru and Kabuto by myself?

"I'll help ya," Daichi said, picking out a piece of fish from his teeth. "Besides, I can't have a pretty lady like you going around by herself, now can I?" Daichi said with a wink, causing me to smile and roll my eyes.

"Oh, get over yourself," I said, laughing slightly before I realized what he was suggesting. "But, you would really go with me?" I asked curiously. He shrugged.

"Sure, whatever. I need something to do anyway. Besides, I owe that bastard for everything he did to me," he exclaimed. Then he looked over to Tsubasu. "What about you, Tsubasu? Don't you want a part of this action?" After a few minutes of silently thinking to himself, he looked at us.

"All right, I guess I'll have to keep you two out of trouble," he replied. Daichi and I immediately smiled and then all three of us looked over Ryuu. I could tell he was very uptight about this and was about to argue, but he simply just gave in and sighed.

"Fine fine, I'll go too." This made me smile.

"All right!"

"From then on out, we became known as Team Tsuki [Team Moon], because no matter how different we all were, no matter what area we came from, no matter where we were located, we all were under the same moon," Sakura finished. Sasuke stared at her, unsure of how to respond.

"You've been through a lot," he stated. She nodded in response, thinking of the many battles ahead of her.

"I'll never stop until I know he's dead," she stated. Before another word was said, the nurse swiftly slid open the door, interrupting their conversation.

"Sir, will you please leave? I need to check up on her," she said.

"Sasuke," Tsubasu stated, initiating him to wake up.

Sasuke, who was soundlessly sleeping in a chair just outside Sakura's room, opened his eyes to look at his comrade. He fixed his composure, slowly waking up from the dream he was having.

"Go to the inn and rest, I'll stay here with Sakura tonight."

Sasuke looked through the glass to look at the sleeping girl. She had her back turned, but he could see her breathing was normal. He then got up, nodding towards him.

"Okay," he started off, closing his eyes and turning his head in the other direction. "Take care of her," he muttered before walking off. Tsubasu stared at his retreating back before walking over to the door of Sakura's room.

He slowly slid open the door, shutting it behind him before taking the chair next to her bed before slowly sitting in it. Sakura, who heard him walk in, turned over, looking at the new presence in the room.

"Go back to sleep," Tsubasu whispered. She fully turned around, placing her arm under her head for support.

"You don't have to look after me," Sakura said sleepily. He could tell that she was in a lot of pain by her muttered voice and slow movements.

"You don't have a choice," he stated. She frowned, scooting over and patting the empty area next to her.

"Then at least sit on something comfortable so I don't feel as bad," she whispered. He thought for a moment before obliging, leaning against the bedframe and sitting on top of the covers. "Do you think we'll ever find Orochimaru?" she suddenly asked, causing him to look down at her. She was staring up at him with worried eyes.

He placed his hand in her hair, stroking it delicately like an older brother would.

"Of course we will," he said. "You won't have to worry anymore." She frowned, as if the thought itself was a faraway dream.

"What are we going to do afterwards?" He looked away and thought for a moment. His deceased parents floated in his mind.

"I don't know," he stated simply. She sat up, looking at him in the eyes.

"Will you all come back with me to Konoha?" she asked. She seemed so weak, so vulnerable. He hadn't seen her this way since their eyes made contact at Orochimaru's lair. His heart seemed to tug inside of his chest as a little bit of sadness washed over him. He loved her, like family. She always had a special place in his heart that no one would ever be able to replace.

"You know we can't do that," he replied as his eyes closed, as if not wanting to see her sadness. Her frown deepened.

"But, why not?" she asked in return.

"Your Hokage would never let us be a part of your village." Tsubasu knew better. They would never be able to have the happiness that they dreamed about. They could never stay together forever; nothing ever worked out that way.

"Of course she would! You were captured by Orochimaru, you didn't just join him," she started off. "Besides, Tsunade-sama and I are," She cast her eyes downward. "Were really close. I could convince her." He stared at her, seeing the determination in her eyes before closing his own and leaning against the bedframe.

"All right," he stated, not being able to say no to her. He looked back at her to see a huge smile plastered on her face; something he had not seen in a long time. "Now go to sleep, you need it," he said instantly. She obliged, laying back down and pulling the covers over her shoulders.

"Arigatou, Tsubasu," she thanked before closing her eyes. He moved a few strand hairs away from her face, watching her slowly fall asleep.

Maybe things would work out for the better; maybe they did have a bright future ahead of them. At first, this adventure was about stopping Orochimaru to save future generations. But, along the line, it became more about themselves – to stop the nightmares, to stop the fear, to stop the hiding. With Orochimaru living, there was no light in their future. They needed to get rid of him so that they could all live together in happiness.

Maybe, somehow, someway, they could all live in Konoha with her and continue to be the family they've developed in the past year. They were stronger than Orochimaru; they could defeat him without a problem. He would protect his family, and they would live happily ever after, no matter what it takes.