Chapter 6.

It was cold. Her fingers and toes were already numb, the cold air hurt with every breath. But Sakura kept going. Step by step she fought herself through the snow. At the moment, she was lucky because the wind was coming from behind, blowing the falling snow only into her back.

She had lost track of time, but she was sure that sundown would come soon. She had to hurry up if she wanted to reach her destination before the end of the day. In the darkness, she would never find the path.

Sakura let out a cry of pain when she tripped over something and fell forward into the hard snow. Her fingers broke through the hard layer of snow and it cut painfully into her flesh. Determinedly, she got back up, drawing her coat closer around her trembling body. She wasn't going to let the snow or the cold slow her down. This was her only chance to find Sasuke.

And she'd bear anything to find him. Anything. Sakura knew that she would freeze to death if she didn't find a place to stay for the night soon. But she didn't care. Nothing mattered to her any more. Nothing but Sasuke. This pain that had tormented her for the past three years had to end.

***

Neji eyed the letter he had found on the doorstep curiously. Normally, no one would have found it until the next morning, but he had been out with his team securing houses against the upcoming storm until now. The letter didn't say who it was from, but on the backside there was written To Hinata. He had a strange feeling about this. Neji had learned to trust his instincts, that's why he went upstairs to bring the letter to his cousin.

Hinata opened the letter, oblivious to who it might be from. But she paled when she read through it and gasped when she had finished it. "Neji-niisan!", she whispered and handed it to him with trembling fingers.

He took the letter from her and read through it impatiently.

Dear Hinata,

You're one of my closest, dearest friends. I wish I could stay but today I overheard a conversation in the Hokage's office. A man with sharingan was seen in a nearby village. It might sound crazy, but I have to take this chance. Maybe I can find Sasuke, and if I do, I will go with him. Don't worry about me, I will be fine. I just wanted to say goodbye and apologize for leaving you behind.

Sakura.

Concerned, Neji lowered the letter. „This is insane," he growled. "She cannot survive in the snowstorm. And even if she does, no one knows what happens if she meets Sasuke, or even Itachi. That girls is crazy."

"We have to inform the Hokage!", Hinata cried. "Sakura is risking her life, someone has to go find her!"

"Tsunade won't allow anyone to leave the village at the moment. Going out in this weather is like suicide." Neji clenched his fists. Sakura was out there in the cold, all alone. He hated to admit it, but he was worried. What if something happened to her? He'd never be able to forgive himself. "Hinata-sama. I'll talk to Tsunade. We'll find Sakura."

Hinata, who was already crying, nodded slowly.

Neji ran out of the room. He had to hurry, Sakura might have been gone since hours.

***

Sakura was getting desperate. Where was that damned village? She knew it had to be somewhere nearby. On a summer day, it would take no longer than one hour to reach it, and now she was on her way for at least twice as long and there was still no sign of it. Moving ahead under these conditions was agonizingly slow, but she should have reached it by now. Unless she was lost. Maybe she had followed the wrong path.

The sky was becoming darker. And the wind was blowing hard. She wasn't sure for how much longer she could walk through the snow. She felt weak. It cost a lot of strength to move on. But she had a goal, that was what kept her from giving up.

***

"What do you mean, you cannot help her?", Neji hissed.

Tsunade shook her head. "I can't send out my men, it would be suicide!", she explained. "It's too dangerous, even for an experienced jounin. Sending out men to rescue Sakura would mean sending them against two enemies. The storm, and an Uchiha. Maybe Itachi. None of our men can fight him."

„I can find a team and go after her!", Neji said. "Naruto will come with me, I know it. And…"

"No! I will not allow this! Sakura knew what she was doing. I will send out a team to bring her back as soon as the storm is over, but no sooner than that. Until then, no one will leave konohagakure. Do you understand?"

Angrily, Neji nodded. That stubborn old hag! He would go after Sakura, with or without the Hokages permission. He spun around and left her office. Tsunade had been stupid enough to mention the village Sakura was heading for. He returned home and got his things packed. Hinata entered his room to ask about the outcome of his talk with Tsunade. "That stupid woman doesn't want to send a team after her," he snarled. "I'll go look for her myself. I promise you I'll bring her back."

He put on his warmest coat and grabbed his backpack. He knew that he was just as stupid as Sakura. But although she had turned him down, he could not stand the thought of her being in danger.

***

Sakura stopped. She could sense someone nearby. Someone powerful. Usually she couldn't sense someone only by his chakra, but this person had to be unnaturally strong, because the feel to his chakra sent shivers down her spine. Either Sasuke or Itachi, he was close by. Sakura bit her lower lip. She couldn't believe her luck. She had found him, without even reaching the village. Or maybe, he had found her. But that didn't matter.

It was so cold that she couldn't feel her fingers or toes any more. The thing that kept her going was the certainty, that she would find the desired answer soon. Maybe, this wasn't about Sasuke any more. It was about the truth, about knowing what had happened to him.

A heavy wind blew right into her face and she lost her balance. She fell backwards into the snow and the scarf around her head loosened. Before she could grab it, it flew away, dancing in the wind before it appeared in the upcoming darkness. "Shit!", she cursed. Her long, pink hair flew openly in the wind, getting damp from the falling snow.

Sakura tried to get back onto her feet, but he legs refused to work. They were numb from the cold. But she refused to give up just yet. There had to be a way to go on. She couldn't die here, not when she could feel that mans presence nearby. She crawled through the snow on all fours, fighting for every meter. The hard snow cut through her clothes and her flesh, leaving bleeding cuts. She hardly felt them, her skin was numb from the blistering cold already.

For minutes, she fought her way through the snow, desperately, determinedly.

And then she saw him. His black clothes contrasted the white snow that covered everything else. Chakra was flowing around him like a second skin, keeping away the snow from his clothes or his pale skin. He looked at her with his blood-red eyes. Sakura gasped. Sharingan. For a split of a second, she thought it was Sasuke. But he wasn't. Hoarsely she whispered: "Itachi!"

...tbc...