Sorry for not updating for so long. Anyway, lots of thanks for those who reviewed! I appreciate them all!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 2

"An A-Rank Mission?" repeated Sakura. She didn't like the sound of that. Dangerous missions made her feel uneasy and they always reminded her of Orochimaru's war. That time when Naruto almost –

She quickly looked over at Naruto, who was really eager to hear of the mission's requirements. Sakura's face showed concern and Kakashi noticed this.

"Don't worry, Sakura," said Kakashi, with a warm smile. "It won't require you to go into the depths of fire and fight with the flames."

"Huh?" replied Sakura. She finally looked away from Naruto and turned to look at Kakashi.

"After Orochimaru's defeat, Itachi and his gang of exiled convicts kept a low profile," continued Kakashi. "They've been awfully quiet for the last few years. This

has made the Hokage very suspicious. That is why you three are going to travel to The Village of the Waves, where you will proceed with the mission."

Sasuke, at the mention of his brother, became very interested in the mission.

"I will give you a map of the village and of the whereabouts of Itachi and his crew," said Kakashi. "Your job is to spy on them, and if any, steal the scrolls that have their plans written on them."

Sakura felt paralyzed all over. Not only did they have to go back to The Village of the Waves, where, a few years back, they had to fight Zabuza and Haku, but they also had to get any information on Itachi's plans. Just the mention of his name made Sakura shiver.

"Alright," continued Kakashi and he handed Sasuke two scrolls. "I wish you luck!"

He saluted them and with a swish of the wind, he was gone.

The trio stood there for a few moments, looking at the spot where their sensei just vanished.

"Be ready in two hours," said Sasuke, when no one made a move. "We'll meet here."

He started walking towards his house.

Sakura watched him as he was leaving. She realized that Naruto didn't do the same.

She looked over at him and he looked like he wanted to say something.

"Sakura-chan, you looked like you didn't want to do this mission."

"Eh?" Sakura's eyes went wide. A small blush was forming on her cheeks. She always felt embarrassed when Naruto showed concern for her. "N-no! It's not that, I'm fine! I looked like that because I was thinking of a good way to approach their headquarters unnoticed."

"Oh," answered Naruto. He didn't look totally convinced but he didn't press the subject onward. "Just know that if you don't want to do the mission, I can do it for the both of us."

Sakura was blushing more furiously now. She let out a small "hai" and started walking in the direction of her house.

When she reached her room, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was burning hot.

The heck's wrong with me? Is this pre-mission jitters?

Sakura let out a long sigh and took out her traveling backpack.

Two hours later, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were standing at the gate of the Konoha Village.

After a moment, they turned around and headed forward, toward the Village of the Waves.

"We can stay at Gramps' place again," said Sakura. "I'm pretty sure little Inari will be really happy to see Naruto."

Naruto laughed at this comment. He put his arms behind his head and looked up into the sky.

A few hours passed, and they were still walking. Sakura was starting to feel a little tired.

"Let's rest a bit," said Naruto. "I'm beat and we should really eat something."

Sasuke didn't object. Perhaps he was feeling hungry as well.

They found a nice place near the river. Sasuke made a fire and Naruto took off his orange suit and went into the water in search of some fish to cook.

Sakura hit herself on the head for thinking that Naruto looked good with a bare chest. She let herself fall backwards on the cool, green grass.

This feels nice.

She closed her eyes and in a few moments, she felt something cold drip on her face.

Sakura quickly opened her eyes and saw Naruto leaning over her, water dripping from him. He had his goofy grin on his face and was chuckling softly under his breath.

"Argh!" exclaimed Sakura. "Naruto! I'm so going to kill you!"

She got up and raced after a laughing Naruto. He ran into the water and stood there, teasing Sakura.

Oh, god. I can't go into this freezing water! But I have to make Naruto pay!

Sakura smiled at Naruto and remembered that she could walk on water without getting wet.

She concentrated her chakra in her feet, and slowly started walking towards Naruto, without her feet ever touching the water.

But before she reached him, Naruto put a devilish grin on his face and Sakura realized that he was planning something.

As Sakura was about to turn around, she saw about five Narutos jump out of the water and tackle Sakura down underwater.

"ACK!" screamed Sakura, as she surfaced the water. "I'LL KILL YOU! IT'S FREEZING IN HERE!"

"Just try!" exclaimed Naruto, still with a smile on his face.

Sakura went underwater and swam towards Naruto. She could see his feet slowly moving back and forth on one spot.

Sakura made a grab for his feet but Naruto jumped out of the water and fell on top of her. Sakura resurfaced the water again and was totally out of breath.

She looked to her side and realized that Naruto was right next to her.

"NA-RU-TO!!" screamed Sakura. She put her hands on top of his head and forced him underwater. "What do you think you're doing!? My clothes are all wet now!"

Naruto resurfaced and was laughing again. Sakura found this quite amusing as well. She burst out laughing.

Sasuke was looking at the pair of them with a disgusted expression. Sakura got out of the water and looked down on herself. She was wet from top to bottom. She had to get a change of clothes.

Sakura brushed her wet hair out of her face and rummaged in her bag for some spare clothes. As she was changing, her whole body shook. That water was really freezing.

Sasuke made the fire bigger and Sakura was glad for some heat. Naruto was still in his boxers, and Sakura wondered how he didn't feel cold.

She shivered a little, and when it became dark, she took out her sleeping bag. She snuggled against the warm covers and looked around at what the boys were doing.

Sasuke was already sleeping in his bag, but Naruto was so tired that he didn't take out anything to cover himself, so he fell asleep on the spot.

Sakura felt really sorry for him.

The poor guy will catch a cold this way. His clothes are still wet.

Fighting back the urge to go back to sleep, Sakura got up and took out a blanket from Naruto's backpack.

Careful not to wake either Naruto or Sasuke, she walked across the clearing and covered Naruto with the blanket.

He seemed to relax a little.

Aww. He looks so cute when he's sleeping.

Sakura smiled and walked back to her sleeping bag. She got under the covers and instantly went into a deep sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~

Another chapter done. Whew. Ok, I'll try to update a little faster this time. See ya!