Short Chapter today. I need to remind myself to put my thoughts in front of these things. That's a habit I need to get into. Once again, thanks for all the positive support. Oh, and you'll notice that the mood may change a bit from chapter to chapter, but thats just the way I write. Hope that doesn't bother anybody.

Part 1.5: The Day You Went Away

Sakura lay lazily on her bed simply staring at the ceiling. It had been a few hours since the meeting with Tsunade, but the message she said had just begun to sink in. She had split up with Ino and Choiji right after the meeting, she did not want them to see her as an emotional wreck.

'Sasuke,' she thought. The last time she had seen him still rang true in her memory. She thought about him constantly before and even more now that he was gone. 'What had he meant the last time we spoke. "You are annoying". What had he meant by that? He didn't seem serious, but then again...'

Sakura turned over on her side. She knew she would be traveling to the Country of Thunder tomorrow along with the other genin. However, the importance of the mission itself just seemed to pale in comparison to actually seeing Sasuke again. She suddenly sat up, and began to rummage through one of her dresser drawers. She searched frantically and finally pulled out a Leaf forehead protector. It had a long slash straight through the middle. She simply stared at it for a minute. It was raining outside, pouring pretty heavily. The storm clouds left the room almost in complete darkness, with only a few faint traces of light that gently reflected of the metal of the forehead protector. 'It's just like it was then..."

It was raining heavily, with the storm clouds blocking out any trace of light. She waited in her usual spot, as she had the day before that; simply waiting and hoping that they would arrive soon. She stared off into the distance, hoping to see some glimpse, a sign that they had returned with Sasuke.

Suddenly, a shape appeared in the distance. The heavy rain made it pretty indistinguishable, but it was approaching quickly. She could now hear heavy panting amidst the downpour. Her spirits soared, 'Is it Sasuke,' she hoped.

However, the shape soon came into view. It was not Sasuke, but Rock Lee, holding what looked to be what was left of Neji over his shoulder. Neji seemed to have suffered some very severe injuries, as he was literally littered with holes throughout his body, but he seemed to be breathing. Some had been bandaged up poorly in an attempt to stop the bleeding. His forehead protector was gone revealing the odd looking seal on his forehead. Even Lee looked like he had been through hell, as many large cuts appeared across his body. Neji was slung over his shoulder, and Lee was running at almost top speed, trying to keep himself from losing balance in the rain. Suddenly he stopped, and looked briefly at Sakura. She looked up into his large, dark eyes, but he quickly turned away and ran off again, probably towards the infirmary.

She watched them disappear in the rain, but then heard a much slower splash through the downpour. She looked up again to see Shikamaru and what seemed to be Temari of the Hidden Sand carrying what looked slightly like a skinny Chouji over their shoulders. Chouji didn't look like he was conscious, as he hung limply at their sides, his head bobbing slightly with each step. She held her hands to her face as she assumed the worst. However, Shikamaru seemed more optimistic as he was shouting encouragement at his lifeless friend. "C'mon Chouji, just a little farther. Just hang on; you can make it." She had never seen Shikamaru appear so distressed, but he had a very frightened look on his face, contrasting his usually lazy demeanor. He did not even seem to notice her, he just continued on, continually cheering his friend on as if Chouji could hear him.

They left as well. The rain had picked up it seemed, drenching her completely, but she didn't care, today was the day she would see Sasuke again. She was sure of it. Another figure was beginning to come out of the darkness. It was pretty oddly shaped, but she kept her hopes up that it was Sasuke. However, what she saw really took her aback.

Gaara of the Hidden Sand led in front of what looked like a makeshift stretcher made of sand. The water had soaked it to a very dark brown, but it kept its solidity. On the stretcher lay Kiba and Akamaru, looking very much near death. Kiba was conscious, but his breathing was labored and a small trickle of blood was slowly oozing out of his mouth. There was a large wound that had been poorly bandaged across his abdomen.

She looked at Gaara in shock, but Gaara went forward at a steady pace, as if he didn't even notice her. He simply made a slight glance over towards her before continuing on. Kankuro was walking next to the stretcher with what looked like two puppets strapped to his back. She recognized one of them, but the other was of an odd shape. He stopped suddenly and stared at her. His usually painted face was beginning to run in the rain, as if his face itself was melting. He simply shook his head, and walked on.

Sakura was panicking now. 'Where's Sasuke at, he should have returned by now, the rest of the team is here, along with others. Where is he?"

She looked on in the distance. It seemed like hours before another figure appeared before her. She could tell it was Kakashi-Sensei in the distance due to his spiky hair, which seemed to retain its figure even in the rain. He was cradling an unconscious person in front of him, but he was staring straight ahead, looking very solemn. Sakura hoped that the person he held was Sasuke; no, she knew it was him, it had to be. However, as they drew closer, it was becoming apparent that the person he was holding was Naruto. He looked like he had been in a large fight was well, his eyes were barely open, and his breathing was very slow. Small patches of blood were splotted across his normally bright orange clothing, and there was a gaping hole over the left part of his chest.

Kakashi stopped slowly and looked down at Sakura. Sakura returned his gaze, but then looked behind him into the distance, as if hoping that Sasuke would turn up. "Kakashi-Sensei, where's Sasuke; is he behind you guys?"

Kakashi quietly stared at her, not giving her an answer or even speaking. He then suddenly turned his head towards the sky and said very quietly, "Always in this kind of weather."

"Sakura-chan," said a very weak voice that seemed to come from Kakashi. Naruto was looking straight at her, his eyes held wealkly open. He seemed to be clutching something in his hand. "I'm...I'm...Sorry." He then allowed his hand to droop to the side, spilling what looked like a forehead protector to the ground. Sakura bent down to retrieve it. It had a large slash through the middle of it.

Her eyes were now wide with shock now. "No...no...I don't believe it. Please Kakashi-sensei, where is Sasuke." But Kakshi refused to answer her; he simply walked on in the same direction as the others.

No, this couldn't be true. She loved Sasuke, with all of her heart. Surely he had come back, surely...

But she already knew the answer, and with that, she dropped to her knees and began to cry.

She was crying again now, into her pillow. Nothing had changed for her, she still loved him with all her heart, but what lingered there now was one question, "Does he love me?"

She turned into her pillow, still sobbing madly, and slowly closed her eyes.