Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto.

AN:

Lady Light: ..Noope…Poor little Sasuke doesn't know…the oblivious one. I hope I didn't make it too confusing… . Thanks for reviewing!

Kawaii Hisui: Hey, thanks for reviewing for all of the chapters! You really think the first part was kewl? Thanks! XD

Darktank: XD Really? You like it! Really makes my day when people like my stories! XD

barby: I hope the wait wasn't too long! Actually, I'm kind of bad at doing cliff hangers and stuff…so…XD thanks for the review.

Iluvanime493: Thanks for the review! It's hard to write this fic since I mostly do AU stuff so…. .

Crystal Koneko: XD Well, here you are! More!

Super kai-chan: Yeah, actually I kind of laugh when I reread my own stories cuz they seem kind of funny! But I'm really trying to make the chapters longer so thanks for the review!

Anata: Thanks for the review! And XD, Sasuke just manages to be LATE in the most crucial times!

bl: Here's your update! Hope you like!

Greater Lights: Hehehe...rubs hands together evily glad people like the story!

Hanyo girl: WoW! THANKS for the three reviews and for the invitation for your C2 community! flashes teeth at hanyo girl

Darkhope: Wow! Glad I got so many reviews! And your review made 12 reviews in all! My lucky number! OH YEAH!

Faded Petals

Chapter Three

He had awoken to the sound of his mother's frantic voice and to the sight of a dark man standing before him, with eyes like liquid pools of blood. In the dark room, there had been strange silhouettes, dark against the white walls.

"Yuki, run!" His mother had called to him. "Go find Naruto-kun! Run Yuki!"

His mother had been scared. He had seen that look in her eyes, the look of a caged bird, cornered by a cat. It had frightened him. His mother was never scared. She wasn't supposed to be. She was his mother and his mother wasn't afraid of anything. And he had wanted to stay, because nobody should make his mother afraid like that. But she had yelled at him and he hadn't wanted to disobey her. He hadn't wanted to make her sad. So he had ran as fast as he could, pounding on Naruto-san's door, and screaming hysterically that his mother was in danger, that there was a strange man at his house… But his mother was gone when they ran back to the house. She was gone, and it had been his fault…He had been the only one who had seen that look in her eyes, but still, he had ran away. It would be his fault, wouldn't it, if his mother was gone forever? It would be his fault if she never came back, never smiled at him again... …Okaa-san….Will you come back? …Okaa-san…..

Hinata peered anxiously into the dim room, her lavender eyes roaming over to where a dark figure sat, huddled in one corner.

"Yuki-chan? Are you alright?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. "…If you're hungry, you can come eat dinner with me and Naruto-kun in the kitchen…I'm still preparing dinner, but it's ramen for dinner tonight…"

The figure in the corner was silent, but Hinata saw the way Yuki's small body was quivering.

"Yuki-chan…If you need help, you can come talk to me or Naruto-kun…alright...I'm…I'm sure your mother..is fine…"

Silence. Hinata sighed, her eyes troubled. Yuki-chan had not spoken, hadn't eaten for the last two days he had stayed with her and Naruto, ever since Naruto had carried him back from the house Yuki and his mother had lived in. She was worried about him, the small boy who did nothing but stare at the wall, curled tightly in a ball, with blank eyes. Though the Hokage had sent out ninjas to search for Sakura, they had not found her…and Yuki had remained in this mute, dead state…

"Yuki-chan," she tried again, her voice pleading. "I-I'm sure your mother will be fine. Please…will you just eat something?"

Still, silence. She walked into the room, standing behind him, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

"Please…Yuki-chan?" She whispered.

There was still no reply. She backed slowly out of the room, letting out a small sigh of disappointment. As she turned her back to him, she heard him let out a soft, muffled whimper, and heard him whisper, 'Okaa-san, I'm sorry…'

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Why couldn't they find her?

Naruto's hand tightened into a fist as he headed home, the dying sun sinking into the red-yellow sky behind him.

They had searched everywhere for Sakura, but she was gone-no signs of struggle, no signs of anything. But it wasn't possible, was it? That she had left on her own will with Itachi? Naruto clenched his fist tighter. No, it wasn't possible. He was sure that Sakura would never leave her son and leave with Itachi…it just wasn't possible….but what if…wasn't there always that possibility that Sakura…..that Sakura had….

"Naruto-kun!"

He looked up to see Hinata standing near outside of the house, her face worried.

"Hinata-chan!" He tried to smile as he headed towards her, but failed miserably.

She didn't smile either. "Naruto-kun…Yuki-chan still hasn't eaten or spoken. If he doesn't eat soon…he could starve…"

Naruto's face was troubled. "…Yeah…"

"And…I'm worried about him…He's Sakura's son after all, but he's also Sasuke's child. Do you think…he'll go and try to find his mother? …Sakura…she was last seen with Itachi…so she…she was probably…taken by him…Do you think Yuki-chan….."

"I don't know, Hinata…I guess…I guess we can only hope for the best…"

"Hai…"

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The sky had been moonless the day he left, just a great expanse of dark blue sky…And just like the last time, she had been waiting for him near the edge of Konoha…But it wasn't the same this time…This time, she knew he wasn't going to come back.

"Are you leaving again?" She had asked, her eyes downcast, her voice hiding disappointment.

"What do you think? I can't just give up revenge now…" He didn't look at her, his onyx eyes staring off somewhere else.

"Well, I…You know I still love you?"

"….."That half smile on his face…

And then, her face had turned distressed, upset. She never was that good at hiding her emotions-not like him, at least.

"Why are you leaving? You don't have to go! Your whole life revolves around your revenge! But it doesn't have to be! Why can't you just forget about it? Killing your brother won't bring your clan back!"

"You're still annoying, you know?"

And he had kissed her, one last goodbye present. And they had lain down together in the grass, with the sky above them…knowing it would end sooner or later…

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The Fifth Hokage sat in her office, peering out the window to the sky outside. A bottle of sake sat on her desk, half finished, and the Hokage was perplexed, very perplexed. Sakura-one of her former pupils-had vanished-not good news at all…Tsunade sighed…Maybe she was getting old-she could feel her bones creaking when she walked. Perhaps it was time to appoint another Hokage…

Just then, the door of her office open, and a black-clad ninja stepped in.

"Hokage-sama," he gasped, "I'm sorry to say we still haven't found anything on Haruno Sakura…But we have news…A missing nin… from about seven years ago-Uchiha Sasuke-has been spotted along the Konoha border."

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow. So the great Uchiha Sasuke was finally back In Konoha, eh? Just wonderful…