AN: Thank you all for your lovely reviews! ^^ ahem Some of you saw this chapter before, but I decided to remove it... for certain purposes. And now, for those who missed it, I uploaded chapter four to make it up to you guys.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…
Hidden Chapter 3: Suspicion
After walking Hinata home, Naruto decided to train a bit more. He wanted to work off any pounds he might've put on. Jiraya used to scold him for eating so much, and training so little… So off to the forest he went. Unsurprisingly, Sasuke was there too, and that meant… Naruto peered around cautiously, Sakura would most likely be around watching.
"She's not here Naruto." Sasuke said in his usual monotone. Naruto blinked in surprise, but began training himself. (Walking up trees, fighting against his clone etc.)
In the corner of his eye Naruto watched Sasuke. The black haired boy seemed to have something troubling him. 'No, Naruto, stay on track!' He scolded himself. Awkwardly enough, Sasuke began to talk. "Kakashi wants us to watch over Sakura…"
Naruto gaped at him. "Hmm? What's wrong with Sakura-chan?" Sasuke shrugged and sat down.
"You haven't noticed the change in her?"
"I guess not," Naruto scratched the back of his head, "She seems more distant. Maybe it's just a phase…"
Sasuke shook his head. "A two year phase…?" The two sat silently, contemplating about the pink haired jounin… 'Sakura…'
The next day Sasuke waited outside on a tree near Sakura's house. After a while she came out, looking rather frustrated. He followed her. She walked a lot faster than usual. 'Does she know I'm following her?' He kept on, until she rounded a corner. He jumped onto a roof and looked down. 'What?!' Sakura disappeared. Sasuke growled in frustration. "Sasuke-kun!" a voice shrieked. 'Crap!' A group of girls jumped on the roof and began to chase after him. He immediately jumped down into the alley and ran. 'Not a good day…'
He ran out toward the forest until he was sure those girls were far behind him. Sasuke jumped on a tree branch and rested there. His eyes snapped open… a familiar presence was around. His gaze landed onto a tree not far from him. There sat Sakura. She looked ghastly, like she was from another world. Her short pink hair twirled around as the wind blew. Sasuke found himself enchanted by the site. 'No, don't go there Sasuke.' He scolded himself for having such thoughts.
Suddenly, the two locked gazes. Sasuke froze, 'this… was not supposed to happen. Defiantly a bad day…' his attention was slightly averted, and apparently Sakura's was too, because she fell out of her tree. Sasuke quickly acted and jumped to catch her. The two landed on the ground with a thud. Sakura's eyes widened for a moment, but she didn't move, and neither did he. They stared at each other. Until, Sakura shifted uncomfortably and slid off of him. 'Awkward… she would be clinging to me by now.' He looked at her strangely.
"Th… thank you Sasuke." He nodded, got up, and helped her get back on her feet. He thought a saw a small smile grace her features, but it was gone in an instant. She frowned slightly, as if thinking about something. She looked up at him with a strange look in her eyes, before walking away without saying anything.
Sasuke watched as she continued to fade in the distance. He snarled, 'don't. Go. There. Sasuke.' Still, he couldn't help but feel uneasiness about what just happened.
"Tsunade, what did you find?" Kakashi asked. He was leaning against a wall in the fifth hokage's office.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. A few bruises, some scrapes… though, they didn't look like they came from the jounin…" she stated, "I believe it was from the struggle than anything. She probably got them when he was dragging her away."
"So… he wasn't trying to hurt her?" Jiraya asked from his position next to her desk.
"I guess not… strange huh? What kind of anonymous ninja comes out of nowhere and tried to abduct a jounin from Konoha? And more specifically, why Sakura?" Tsunade placed a hand under her chin and sighed.
"Hmm… perhaps it was because-" Jiraya began, but Tsunade interrupted.
"I remember! On her hand! There… there was a seal on her hand… it was a small pink gem, with five seals around it. It resembled a Sakura blossom, actually."
"A seal?" Kakashi asked. She nodded. Jiraya gasped.
"Wait a minute, Tsunade, what was Sakura's father's name?" She thought about it for a while.
"Haruno… Haruno, Enki, I believe. Why?" She asked.
"And the seal? It was a cherry blossom correct?"
"Just spit it out Jiraya…" Kakashi said calmly.
"Her father had it too…" Silence filled the room. 'So… then it's still active after all…'