I'm doing my best, I promise. I apologize for how long it is taking and how short this chapter is; don't hate me peeps. This is a huge process being my own Beta reader and trying to keep it as in line with everything that has happened previous. When I write a chapter I also am taking notes at the same time to give you guys a quality story with a flowing story line.

I really am sorry for how long this is taking. I am in the middle of doing a million things and I realized this story is 4 years old and I'm just getting to good shit. I am so sorry y'all, but I appreciate and love every single one of you who reads this!

Enjoy~

Flashbacks

Inner Talking

Chapter 12

Back in the Leaf (third POV)

It was the morning after Sakura went to visit Itachi. Hinata had woken up and went to see how Sakura had slept and if she would join her for morning tea on the back porch.

"S-sakura-chan," Hina softly called, knocking on the wood of the sliding door. When no answer came about she smiled and rolled her eyes, thinking her friend was still sleeping. Like any good friend, she pulled the door open saying, "Saki-chan, you know we have work to-." She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that no one was in the bed.

This could be a mistake right? Maybe she was in the shower?

Hinata started to walk a little faster down the hall to see if anyone was in the bathroom, but no one was there. That's when she started to think, where does Sakura like to go? Before freaking out, she started to think of a few spots her friend could be and ran back to her room to change.

At a record breaking speed she was dressed and out the door, not even bothering to tell her parents or cousin she was going out. For once she wasn't worried about getting in trouble; she just wanted to find her friend.

Hinata was running through town, looking through the stalls to see if she was out buying weapons or plants for her poisons and remedies. No luck. Turning towards the library she made a quiet dash inside and walked around to see if she was there. No luck yet again. Once back outside she made a dash for the training fields, hoping her friend was just doing a morning workout. Hinata started to panic when she didn't see a hint of pink hair anywhere on the training grounds. There was only one more spot she could think of, the memorial stone.

Hinata steeled her resolve and dashed in the direction of the stone. It is close enough to the training grounds where just a few minutes of running lands you in front of it. Hinata walked up to it and looked at the stone for a few moments. Whenever she comes here, she is reminded of the first time Sakura brought her here to show her where they put Mori's name. It was a day full of tears and reminiscing, but it was one of the days Hinata treasures the most because it brought her closer to Saki.

Being lost in her thoughts, she touched the boy's name. Even though she had only known him for three years, the bond he had with her was special. He always treated her and Sakura very well; she might as well have been his other sister with how nice he was to her. That's one of the reasons Sakura ran to Hinata when he died; she knew Hina would understand her pain. He might have been Saki's brother, but he still had a sister-brother relationship with her as well.

She curled her fingers into a fist when she felt with her chakra and didn't feel her friend's signature. With determination, she ran from the stone and headed towards the Hokage tower. If Sakura wasn't in her usual spots something had happened, something bad. Hinata knew she needed to tell someone, and the Hokage was the best person to get to.

Hinata was running so hard, the hardest she's ever ran, and didn't notice the three other people who called out to her. She kept running and it worried Kakashi, Zabuza, and Haku, so they followed her. The only thought running through her mind was that she had to make it, to tell someone about her best friend missing. They would have to do something, send someone around to find her. She just had to keep pushing herself harder to fun faster. She kept thinking of the mantra they were taught in the academy; every second counts when someone is missing.

Hinata made it to the Hokage tower and didn't pause in her decent up the steps. She ran all the way up, listening to her breathe come in and out, helping push her to the top. When she got to the top floor she ran right into the Hokage's office without missing a beat. When she burst through she put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

Due to her position, she didn't notice who was in the room. Tsunade and Shizune looked at Hinata, concerned for their apprentices' best friend. She looked upset and had obviously been running to get here. Shizune had gotten up and ran over to her, rubbing her back as Hinata coughed. The Third looked at all the people in the room and sighed, there went his nice morning with his granddaughter and dear friend.

While Hinata was catching her breath, the Third beckoned everyone into the room and closed the door. Once the door was closed Hinata sat up and looked to the three people In front of her. She knew who everyone was and slumped into Shizune's arms, knowing she was in a group of people who would do something.

"I need help," the heiress said to the room, which had gone quiet as soon as she opened her mouth. They looked at her and waited for her to continue, and noticed the tears coming down her face. "I need you guys to find S-sakura-chan. S-s-she's g-g-g-one!" After saying that, Hinata starting gasping for air, worrying the med-nins in the room and making them wonder just how long she had been running. Tsunade walked over to her and put her glowing green hand on her chest to ease her breathing while coaching her to take deep breaths to slow her heart down.

When she had calmed down enough, she finally looked around the room when she felt a few familiar chakras. Kakashi, Zabuza, and Haku were staring at her in disbelief. They all looked ridged and she could see the fury in their eyes at what she had said. She looked to Tsunade and smiled, giving her thanks. She stood up and stood in front of the Third's desk. Hinata bowed deeply and said, "I'm so sorry Lord Third. It is my fault she's gone, Sakura-chan was staying with us after all. She must have been taken in the night and no one saw…I'm so sorry Ojichan."

Hinata wanted to cry again, she wanted to scream and cry and let her heart get the better of her. But she had done that already, and now she wanted to find her friend and sister. She was still bowing, holding her head down and letting her hair fall in front of her face.

She was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but turning to the person it was Kakashi with his signature eye crinkle smile. "This is not your fault, Hinata-chan," he said to her, "we all know Sakura. She would not have gone without a fight, so if your compound is still in one piece then she went somewhere on her own free will. The question becomes just where she went." This sparked a conversation between the adults and Hinata about where Sakura likes to frequent.

The Third was looking at everyone in the room talking, gauging what he should do. He knows he has to send people after his honorary granddaughter, especially because it had to happen early this morning or late last night. Any trail would still be viable, but not for too much longer. He was weighing the pros and cons of sending everyone in the room, and decided if he had to let anyone stay behind it would be his niece and her friend. They won't like it, being her mentor, but they will have to listen.

As they all continued to talk, Lord Third could see the determination in the new additions to his village. They both had anger in their eyes and he could see both of them had a hand that was white knuckled the whole time they were talking about Sakura. The Third hadn't been completely sure when he agreed to take them in, but seeing this protective side of them, he knew he made the smart move. The fact that they care so much for little Sakura will benefit her in the future, because no one wants to mess with them. Seeing as they are in the Bingo Book, most people know their faces, so they will stay clear of them if they can help it. Folding his hands and leaning on them, he waited for them to finish their thoughts and then he cleared his throat.

All six sets of eyes looked to him, and moved to stand at attention in front of him. They were all silent, waiting for him to command them to do something. Seeing as they all cared about their little blossom, they were impatient for him to talk, but knew better than to say anything until he spoke.

Moving his eyes to each set staring at him, he finally spoke. "We all know it is crucial to start looking for a trail now before it starts to fade. I am sending some of you on this mission to find and retrieve Sakura Haruno at any cost. She must be brought back here, dead or alive, that is crucial to this rescue."

They all held their breath when they heard him say 'some of you' and Hinata was the only one whose eyes popped when he said 'dead or alive'; her friend coming back to them dead? No, that is not an option.

Standing at attention, they all looked at him, waiting for his next set of orders.

Once all of the details were sorted, the four man team set out to the gates. Hinata asked the third to send word to her family and he agreed, telling her that both branches of the family would be notified. Kakashi wasted no time on formalities, neither did Zabuza or Haku. Once at the front gate Kakashi summoned his dogs and talked with Pakkun. One of the pros to having Sakura as his student is that he knows how to get into her house, so before coming to the gates he was able to get in and take a piece of clothing from her home for the dog to smell.

They were all aware of how serious this was, so the three men talked with Hina about what she knew so far. She went on to explain how Sakura was staying with them and then about how she had realized that she was not in bed in the morning. Once she realized that she had decided to check the normal places that she would frequent but all were empty of her best friend.

The guys all listened intently and once she was done Kakashi told them all to follow him. He ran out of the gates with the three of them hot on his tail as he ran around the outside of the walls of the village. He knows where the Hyuga compound sits along the rim of the wall, so that is where he was heading to start looking for his only female student. When the village was very new, the Hokage had let the prominent families pick where they wanted their compounds to be, and the Hyuga's had chosen to be in the Southwest corner so they could have access to the forest behind their compound for clan trainings and have a larger space for their gardens.

Hinata knew where they were heading and trusted the men she was with the help her find her friend. Hina knew that this was the best group of people the Third could send after her because of their relationship with her. The only way to make it better would be if Tsunade and Shizune were there as well, but the Third had wanted to keep this under wraps as best as possible.

They reached the wall that bordered the compound and Kakashi put the ribbon he had taken from Sakura's room under the ninja dog's nose. He sniffed it a few times and then started sniffing the air around where we were. Pakkun barked once and then looked at Kakashi, "I got her scent, follow me."

That was all they needed to hear as they followed the dog to a training field not too far from where they were. Pakkun was sniffing for a few minutes here before he came back over to the group of anxious ninja.

He sat down and then proceeded to inform the group on his findings. "Her scent is very strong here, meaning she spent a little while here. Now I can't tell you why, but I smelled another sent here as well." He paused, looking up at Kakashi.

"What is it, Pakkun?" the silver haired man inquired. He was calm on the outside, but inside his chest his heart was pounding against his ribs, making it painful for him to breathe. He is worried about his student and needs to know who thought they could take her with no consequences.

"I know the scent from some of our scouting missions." Pakkun paused, but then continued at the look in his master's eye, "The scent is Itachi Uchiha."

This caused a mixed reaction among their group; Hina gasped as soon as the name was said because she knew of the man and what he has done to Saki's teammate. Zabuza growled at the name, knowing him from the bingo book; Haku did nothing but narrow his eyes, knowing the name as Zabuza did; but Kakashi looked positively livid. If one looked close enough at his lone eye they would have seen the fire raging in his mind of how he was really feeling. But he knew he was the leader of this mission, and because of that he had to be clear headed and think this through.

With the two other guys on this team it should be a little easier finding the blossom, but Kakashi was worried about Hinata. Now, he knew that she was training with Sakura, so her skills were sharp and she was probably much better than she might lead people to believe. The only problem was that they were about to hunt down Itachi Uchiha, that could mean running into the Akatsuki, and if they did that he wasn't sure if they would be able to keep her safe.

Hinata was staring at the silver haired ninja, trying to calculate what he would say. During her trainings with Sakura, she would try to explain Kakashi's thought processes when he was thinking about a mission. One of the things that he always did was make sure everyone came home, and that meant he would make calls that they would not all agree with, including telling someone they needed to stay behind.

Taking a leap of faith, the heiress said, "I-I will not be left behind on this mission Hatake-sensei." He was sizing her up, having noticed she barely stuttered. Before he could respond, she continued talking, "Sakura-chan is my best friend. She has t-taught me how to become a better kunochi and all around person, she is very important to me. I-I want to find the bastard who took her and I want to bring her home safely with or without all of your help."

The group was noticing how this young girl looked; a fierce determination burning in her young eyes, her long dark purple hair up in a bun on her head (a style Sakura had helped her with), and her usual garb of a beige jacket and dark blue pants on with her sandals. She has her fists balled at her sides and was staring at them all defiantly. While young, she has the fire burning in her to do what is right by her friend, no matter the cost.

The meanings in those words were not lost on those around her; she would go off on her own to find Sakura if they dared leave her behind. Kakashi inwardly sighed, but he was also pleasantly surprised by this coming from the young girl. Sakura must have really helped her out if her stutter was really that in control and she was willing to stand up to authority like that.

With an eye crinkle, he walked over to Hinata and put a hand on her head. He looks down at her and says, "Wouldn't dream of leaving you behind Hinata-chan."

Hinata feels her face warm up as a small blush flits across her face. Zabuza and Haku chuckle at this as well, before their group turns towards Pakkun and then they are off into the trees; all of them wanting to bring their cherry blossom home, safe and sound.

Sakura (POV)

After Mori almost killed Itachi for taking me from the village, things settled down a little bit. I haven't let my guard down by any means, but I feel a little safer knowing I'm not a hostage of the Akatsuki and that my brother is here.

Ever since our fight we haven't brought up why he was here. He was telling me all about his adventures with Orochimaru- who I am now aware is our uncle- and how he has been training him. I was listening to him talk because I missed the sound of his voice. It was interesting to see him still do what he used to do with me when I was a kid; he would always tell the story as it was, but leave out the gruesome parts, afraid I would become frightened. Oro even chimed in a few times to explain why he made Mori do certain trainings, which was interesting because of his view points. Something was off though, because I couldn't shake the burning of my seal every time I looked at him or heard him speak. For now I was brushing it off until it became an issue.

To take my mind off of the burning, while listening to me brother I was also studying Itachi. I find it intriguing that the Uchiha merely sits with us and listens to our exchanges. I can tell he is following based off of his eyes and their movements. He is very similar to Kakashi-sensei in the way that he is able to keep his face blank, but his eyes always give him away. Even though he has had his Sharingan active the entire time, there are things no person can hide, and his emotions are always present in his bright red eyes.

After a while of talking, I turn to Itachi and say, "Why did you take me if you did not intend to hand me over as a hostage?" I think he was thrown off by the smile that accompanied my question, but he composed himself quickly.

"As I explained to your brother and uncle, (que the pain in my seal) I took you because of your brash act of screaming." He seemed a little huffy about that, but then he continued. "I am a missing-nin, if anyone would have come to see what the commotion was about I would have had to either kill them or out run them. My only option was to take you with me, especially with you barring the brand of an Uchiha Seal."

My temper spiked when he said he had only one option, but it quieted when he brought up the seal. I look over at him and say, "How do you know who it is from?"

"There are Sharingan Tomoes within it, marking it as an Uchiha Seal." He replies.

My mind is whirling with the options as to who could have done it. There are only two alive, and obviously Sasuke didn't do it. But Itachi hadn't been able to break it either. Who the hell could have done that to me?

I hear someone clear their throat, and look over to Mori and Orochimaru. They are looking between each other and I see Mori decide to take the lead. "T-that would be a seal from our uncle."

I have no idea what to say as I just stare at them, expecting an explanation. When neither of them said anything within the next few minutes I put my fingers on my temples. This was going to take some convincing for them to tell me why I had this stupid seal. Itachi also seems annoyed that there was no explanation behind their words and actions.

Itachi narrows his eyes and asks, "How?"

Once he asks, my seal burns. I scream as I fall to the floor.

I don't know why it hurts, but I am raking my finger nails over the spot and continue screaming. My eyes are closed because of the pain; I just want it to stop! Someone is trying to stop me from ripping open my skin, but I just want to make it stop!

The pain is immense and I can't help but scream as I am fighting the person trying to calm me down. I open my eyes a crack to see it is Mori who was standing over me, looking at me with concern as he is trying to get me to stop clawing at myself.

I can see my vision darkening and before I let the darkness over take me, I grab his hand as strong as I can, and whisper, "Don't leave me."

Third POV

Mori was horrified at what he just saw. His uncle has always said that the seal wasn't supposed to be painful and that she would be okay. Fury was filling his veins as he cradles his sister in his arms, looking like he was protecting her from any and all threats. He looked to his uncle and hissed, "I thought she was supposed to be safe! Why is she in pain?"

Orochimaru was looking at his niece with a pained expression on his face. He met his nephews' eyes and explained, "Ssshe wasss not sssupposssed to feel any pain. If the plan wasss followed, ssshe would not know about any of thisss. Ssshe mussst have been doing sssome reasssearch on her own, knocked sssome thingsss into place and it'sss causssing her pain. The ssseal isss meant to represssss her memoriesss of my identity and the ssspecificsss of your cover."

Mori was getting annoyed at what he was saying, because he was leaving out a big portion of what the seal was hiding. He hugged his sisters' unconscious form closer and laid her head on his chest. Looking back up at Orochimaru, Mori whispered, "You know what else it can mean."