A/N: Yosh! More comments!

KaZa-Q: I'm glad you liked the dream sequence! I intended it to be very romantic and emotional, to the point it makes Sakura cry re-telling it to Naruto.

Ryushi-the-DutchEroSennin: Thank you! Yes, that was my goal: to display Sakura's emotions in a raw and intense way. I'm glad you admire it and I hope you like what you're reading so far!

Nyteness: Yes, Sasuke's appearance will happen soon...hehe.

crazy-antman: Thank you for the compliment!

InuyashaObssessed101: I know Sakura is being extremely emotional. Interesting reason I made her like that is because her personality is very similar to mine when I was her age. I decided to incorporate my own emotional experiences (not a whole lot of them though) into Sakura's persona so she would seem very real to life. You can say that I associate with her very well.

Chocobaby: Oh, there's more sadness to come. Maybe you should have a tissue box right by you haha.

LoneSakura: Awww dear! I'm surprised I made you cry during the dream sequence. I honestly felt like crying myself while I was in the process of writing it haha, so you are not alone. There will be more emotional scenes in upcoming chapters.

Thank you everyone for your generous comments! 'glomps you all haha'

xoxoxoxox

Sakura woke up to the sun beaming its rays on her and the melodic chirping of birds on branches. She lazily opened her eyes and lifted her head from Naruto's chest. She was careful not to stir him. He shifted around a little as Sakura slowly lifted herself up. Her jaded eyes looked at her best friend.

Naruto, I'm sorry for putting you through my personal hell. You deserve to stay happy and not get pulled into my suffering…

She realized she left a damp spot on Naruto's white vestige. She inspected herself and felt the upper part of her ANBU outfit was sticky from all the tears she shed. Sakura walked towards the water and gathered some to cleanse her face and outfit.

Shortly there after, Naruto started to wake up.

"Sakura-chan, are you feeling better now?" he asked her with a tired voice and worried look on his face.

"A little bit. Thank you for comforting me, Naruto. You're a wonderful best friend," Sakura gave him a gentle smile.

"Ah, you are always welcome! You know I care for you a lot, Sakura-chan!"

"I'm also sorry for damping your ANBU uniform…" Sakura said as she felt a tinge of embarrassment within her.

"Neh, it's OK. Better than getting soaked in blood," he walked towards the water and squatted beside Sakura. He gathered some of the clear liquid to cleanse himself too.

"Well, we better go back to the squad. They must be looking for us," Sakura said as she stood up from her spot.

Naruto nodded and followed Sakura as she walked towards their squad's camp out.

"Where's Sakura-chan and Naruto?" Kiba asked Neji. They have been awake for about 30 minutes now.

"I'm not too sure. Last I saw of them, they walked together into another area. I'm sure they will meet up with us soon," Neji replied

After Neji said that, the 2 best friends walked towards the mass.

"Ah! There you guys are!" Kiba exclaimed.

"What did I tell you?" Neji gave him a smirk.

"Ohayo everyone," Sakura greeted them, but not with her usual cheery tone.

"Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Ten-Ten asked with a look of concern on her face.

"No, no, Ten-Ten-chan. Don't worry, I'm fine," Sakura waved her hand in front of her face and gave her squad a gleaming smile.

"Yeah, don't worry. She's fine, dattebayo," Naruto backed her up so no one will ask what was really wrong with her.

"OK, since everyone is here, we will continue on with our mission. Let us all depart!" Neji commanded to the mass.

"Yosh!" Kiba and Naruto exclaimed in unison.

Everyone packed up their materials and put the ANBU mask on their faces. They proceeded to walk out of their camp-out. Sakura was running a little bit behind, still putting away her necessary products for the mission in her pouch. Earlier she took out all of the items to double check if they were all there, then she put them back in again.

"Neh, Sakura-chan! Hurry up before you get left behind!" Naruto exclaimed as he was walking ahead already.

"Gomen! I'm coming!" She hastily dusted herself off and ran to her squad.

What she didn't realize was that she left her mission scroll on the ground as she was sorting through her products in her pouch.

I'm finally free from that hell! I can't believe that dumbass believed my lie!

A mysterious ninja was swiftly jumping from one branch to another.

Sakura felt the presence of that ninja around them. She tugged at Naruto's arm.

"I feel another presence by us," she whispered with a scowl on her face, as she looked around to where that individual specifically was.

Naruto tried to feel the presence as well, but it was already too weak to detect.

"Sakura-chan, I think that 'presence' is going the other direction, even though they passed by us. If they were harmful, they would have attacked us. It's probably just an innocent bystander walking through the area. Don't worry."

"You're right. I don't feel that person's presence anymore," they continued walking behind their group.

Oh shit! I just realized there was an ANBU unit and hunter-nins walking on the ground!

The ninja briefly saw their distinctive masks and uniforms. He didn't bother carefully observing more characteristics of each ANBU and hunter-nin member. He quickened his pace on the branches, careful not to make any noise or disturbance so he won't get caught.

I hope they're not hunting after me! I can't die yet! I still have more goals to fulfill…

His onyx-colored orbs cringed and his teeth gritted behind the black mask he wore on the lower half of his face. His raven spikes swayed from one side to the other as he jumped from one branch to another. Occassionally, he would push aside the bangs that blocked his vision. He was wearing a black top that exposed his finely built torso through the tight-fitting material and his muscularly slender arms. His arms were wrapped with white and black wraps. He wore baggy navy blue pants, similar to the ones that Jounins wear in Konoha. Just below the ending of his pants, fishnets were exposed that were 3 inches above his ankles. The right leg of his pants had white wraps bound to it. He had a belt holster that contained kunais and shurikens. In his right hand, he was holding a large katana. It was stained with crimson blood and tissue matter. The contents on his sword started to dry up, after butchering an individual hours earlier.

I want to find that asshole soon! Wait, what if he's dead already? No, that's impossible. He's too powerful to die right now. At least I am at equal level with that man, so I'll be able to eradicate his sorry ass. But how am I going to find him?

He gracefully descended on to the ground, in the former camp-out of the ANBU squad. He leaned against one of the tree trunks and hooked his right index finger on his mask to slowly pull it down, exposing the extremely handsome features on his face.

Sasuke, at least you achieved something earlier today. He's dead, and now I have to kill that other person; my bastard brother of mine. I hope he rots in hell for all the torment he's put me through for the past 9 years! I want those nightmares to go away already!

He buried his face in his hands. He emerged out of them and punched the tree trunk behind him with his right hand. Blood trickled down his hand, as splinters pierced his knuckles. He ignored the pain because the inner pain from his angst and torment was more severe.

As he turned around to look at the scene around him, he noticed a small object sprawled on the grass. He curiously observed it and was cautiously approaching it, worried it would be an exploding weapon the ANBU left behind as a trap. He slowly pulled out his kunai just in case he needed to defend himself from flying paraphernalia. As he came closer to the mysterious object, he realized it was harmless. He gingerly picked it up and ran his hands over it.

This is an ANBU scroll that contains information on a mission assignment! Maybe one of the dumbasses forgot it here or accidently dropped it. Wait, maybe this is a decoy? Something to lure me into opening, then something negatives happen to me? Sasuke thought as he hesitated to open the scroll in his hands.

An aromatic scent enticed his nose. It omitted from the scroll.

God, this smells like…Sakura petals.

His eyes gazed down at the scroll and a soft expression formed on his face.

Those pink locks of hair, those huge jaded eyes, that radiant smile…

He gazed at the scroll with more intensity.

Is this…Sakura's scroll? Could it be possible that she's an ANBU member now?

He let out a small scoff.

Ch! Maybe I'm wrong. She's probably still a weakling, and not to mention annoying!

He slowly lifted his head to the cloudy blue sky.

But…I wonder how she looks like now? Does she still look the same? Has she changed mentally, emotionally, and physically? How about that dobe, Naruto? I wouldn't mind bumping into those two again…

He shook his head to clear the thoughts of his old teammates and looked at the scroll again.

Ahh fuck it! I'll just open this scroll. It seems harmless anyway…

Sasuke proceeded to carefully open the scroll. As he finished unrolling it, he read the contents. His eyes widened and he started to clench his teeth. He didn't know whether he wanted to jump for joy from the discovery he made or to throw it on the ground and aggressively stomp on it.

So that's the location of that fucker! I've been trying to look for him too! It's a lucky coincidence that I happen to stumble upon this scroll! Itachi, I'm going to hunt you down before those ANBU idiots do and I'll butcher you into little pieces just like that other teme!

Sasuke immediately picked up his belongings, put his mask back on, and jumped on to the branches. He brought the scroll with him. He started to head towards the same direction as the ANBU squad: The Land of Lightning.

I think I should conceal my chakra so none of the ANBU members can detect me. I don't want to start shit with them. Meh, that will take up too much time!

He forced himself to conceal his chakra as he continued to swiftly jump from one branch to another.

Arigato Sakura, for dropping that scroll on the ground…if it truly does belong to you…He thought to himself. I actually miss seeing that radiant smile of yours, not to mention your upbeat attitude.

A small smirk formed behind his dark mask.

A/N: Mwahahaha what did I tell ya! Sasuke has finally appeared!

'GASP' I wonder what will happen next!

Oh yeah, comments for this chapter would be greatly appreciated.