I hope this story isn't too confusing...

And reviews rock my socks. :o

Before I forget:

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and never claimed such thing.

ANBU doesn't cry

But why can't I stop shedding tears?

'The Sharingan… B-but… How...'

'Run! We can never-'

Before the second chuunin managed to finish his statement, his blood splattered in the blink of an eye.

The live ones' eyes widened, and they began to shiver, when previously they bravely threw mere shurikens at him.

'No! No! Please, spare us! Spare me, at the least!' The first chuunin begged onto his legs, while the third chuunin was too frightened to speak.

'Please…' the first one squeaked out.

The young man looked down on the pitiful scene in front of him. Disgusting.

'I have no use sparing cowards,' he stated coldly.

That day, the lush green bushes were repainted with the colour red.

The Quest

By Infinite Inficio

Chapter Two

'Kunai… Shuriken… Scrolls…'

Sasuke continued scavenging through the corpses' bodies.

He knew it was sick, and he hated doing it.

It was all Itachi's fault- he had the fame, the fortune, and he was about to be clan heir, but he threw that all away.

And in turn, he threw away Sasuke's fame and fortune, too.

He lost track of how many days he spent in this area already, he lost track of how many years he lived this pitiful life, he even forgot how old he was. Seventeen… Nineteen… Twenty… they were only mere numbers.

He completely lost track of time- the only things on his mind were food, shelter, and Itachi.

Yes, once he killed Itachi, he would reveal his existence to the world, and claim his rightful ownership to the Uchiha fortune. Then he can start rebuilding his clan, and leave this pathetic life behind.

'Food supplies…'

Sasuke slightly beamed. He would be able to stop hunting rabbits in this particularly remote area.

He didn't see any civilians he could coerce into giving their money to him to, but luckily, a group of three chuunins passed this area.

He collected the weapons he scrounged out, and took everything he could from the corpses.

He put on the shirt the second chuunin wore. It was the one with the least blood.

He looked at the piece of bread he was holding. It had some splotches of blood, transferred from his hand, but clean, generally.

Sasuke scrunched up his nose. He better save it up for a special occasion.

'Hyuuga, Nara, you two are one of my best men.'

Captain stared at them, as if his eyes had more insight that Hyuuga Neji's Byakugan.

'…'

'…'

'So I am assigning you an important S-rank mission. It will be beneficial to our organisation.'

Shikamaru groaned, while Neji smirked.

'Such is the life of shinobis,'he remarked.

'I need you to infiltrate a certain organisation's lair, bring back as many information as possible, come back, then go back there and fight with reinforcements.'

'…'

'You two might have heard that a new organisation has appeared… Its name is Akatsuki.'

Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck, scowling. It's going to be a troublesome job.

'Even though their amount of members is minute compared to other shinobi organisations, their strength is… inhumane…'

'Hyuuga, you might remember about that mission in Wind Country- you met one of them, while Haruno defeated the other one.'

Shikamaru scowled, not particularly liking Neji's yes-I-remember nod.

'Another member I think I should let you know about is Uchiha.'

'Uchiha…?'

'He was a Squad Leader at such a young age, and he betrayed us even with his achievements… one of the biggest losses in ANBU. I remember when he was a kid- always knew there was something wrong with him.'

'Is he…' Neji whispered softly. 'Is he as strong as they make him out to be?'

Captain looked at him straight in the eye.

'No,' he denied. 'He is much stronger.'

'…'

The silence in the room was exasperating, but no one dared to speak yet.

Then Captain cleared his throat, and gave each of the ANBU members a piece of paper.

'Here are your mission briefings.'

He watched as both of them had their eyes widened when they absorbed what they read, even the laid-back Shikamaru.

'But Captain… This is almost impossible! How are we supposed to know where their lair is?' Neji questioned.

'That is a simple matter. All we need is-'

'Bait.'

'What?'

'We need bait, then all you have to do is follow them.'

'Look, Naruto- this is crazy; what can be bait for such a powerful-'

'Me.'

Sakura's eyes widened.

'No.'

'Yes.'

'No.'

'Akatsuki wants Kyuubi's power- and I have it.'

'You are not going to risk your life just to capture them! It's almost impossible! I'll- I'll tell Captain about this! He won't let you go either!'

'Just because I'm meant to be ANBU's trump card…'

'But… Naruto…'

'Sakura-chan…'

'There are lots of other ANBU members who care about you, too- Neji-san, Shikamaru-san, Hinata, Kakashi-sensei, Kiba-san, Shi-' Sakura paused. 'Well, I'm not sure about Shino-san, but I think so…'

Naruto chuckled slightly.

'Naruto! I don't know… I'm not capable of this…'

'You defeated a member of them.'

'It was only with the help of Chi-'

'Sakura-chan,' Naruto said firmly. 'I know it sounds hard, but my chakra isn't that hard to detect from far away.'

'B-but… What if I'm too late? And they extracted the Kyuubi out of you already…'

'Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take.'

Sakura couldn't stop the tears from running down her face.

'Sakura-chan…'

She hiccuped, then wiped her face on her sleeve.

'You're an ANBU, Sakura-chan…'

'B-but…'

'Please… don't cry…'

She sobbed even harder, and Naruto attempted to comfort her by patting her on the back.

When it didn't work, he put on his signature grin.

'I'll be fine! I promise!'

Sakura looked up, then smiled slightly, even though the tears were still intact.

'Okay… I believe you, Naruto.'

'Sakura-san.'

'Yo, Sakura.'

'Oh! Shikamaru! Neji-senpai! What brings you here? Sit down!'

Both men shuffled nervously as she forced them down on the couch.

Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow as he saw Sakura putting clothes into an already bulging bag. 'Why are you packing?'

Sakura laughed nervously. 'Well, I was planning on having a little… vacation.'

'ANBU doesn't have vacations.'

'Well, don't tell Captain. I'm just tired of staying here and not doing any missions.'

Both looked at her suspiciously, but didn't question her any further.

'Talking about missions…' Neji started. 'Do you have any idea where Naruto is?'

Sakura froze.

'He ran away.'

Neji stood up. 'What do you mean he ran away?'

Her bottom lip quivered slightly, and her eyes drifted unfocused- Neji took them as signs that she was weaving a lie.

'I don't know,' she simply stated.

'Sakura,' Shikamaru started lazily. 'Do not attempt to lie to us.'

She looked around, as if trying to find someone who would support her, before facing the two young men.

'He's… he's… trying to destroy Akatsuki.'

'Akatsuki…?'

Sakura nodded slowly, but neglected to tell them about her involvement in it.

'This is… this is ridiculous!' Neji remarked.

Sakura ignored the comment, and faced Shikamaru

'May I ask what your mission has to do with Naruto?'

Shikamaru pondered for a while. 'Would you tell anyone?'

'Not a single soul.'

'You see... We need him… the Kyuubi inside him… for bait.'

'Our mission is to infiltrate the Akatsuki headquarters, gain enough information and return here, then attack with ANBU reinforcements.'

Shikamaru sighed. 'Well… If Naruto's not here…'Then hestood up as well.

Sakura grabbed his vest.

'Please! Please don't tell Captain about this!' Sakura begged worriedly. 'Both of you are Squad Captains… I'm sure… I'm sure you can-'

Shikamaru looked at Neji, pleading to be saved.

'Sakura-san, we won't tell Captain,' Neji said firmly. 'But only if you tell us what you know already.'

'No.'

'But… Captain-'

'No buts, Hyuuga, Nara… Haruno.'

'Captain-'

'I amdisappointed inyou two- telling the details of a mission to a person who's not involved! If this mission was not so crucial, I would've put both of you on probation!'

'Captain…' Neji started to reason, 'Haruno is one of the few who can detect Uzumaki Naruto's distinctive chakra… I'm sure she will be of use in the mission.'

Captain stayed silent, before looking at Sakura. 'Haruno!'

She jerked back. 'Yes, Captain?'

'Aren't you Tsunade's apprentice?'

'Yes, I am.'

'You see, Captain,' Shikamaru interrupted, 'Haruno's medical skills can be of use-'

'Inside the organisation,' Captain completed, even though he knew that was far from what the man was about to say. 'Her medical skills are to save ANBU members with fatal injuries from missions, not to go on one- her talent is too valuable.'

Even without the Byakugan, anyone could tell that Captain was only making an elaborate excuse.

'Captain,' Sakura started. 'I am aware that this mission was meant for Hyuuga and Nara only, but Naru- Uzumaki is my closest friend- it is only natural that I'm worrying about him, and I think-'

'Haruno, you cannot go on this mission, and that's final.'

'Sorry we couldn't get you on the mission, Sakura.'

'Heh, don't worry,' Sakura replied. 'I don't need Captain's command to find Naruto, anyway.'

'Kakashi-senpai!'

The long-haired woman yelled. The man showed no indication that he heard her.

'KAKASHI-SENPAI!'

'Aa… Yugao… what brings you here?'

'Your student… no, students…' she panted, then continued. 'They both ran away from the organisation!'

His face showed a slight amount of worry.

'Since when?'

'Yesterday,' Yugao answered. 'Naruto ran first, and Sakura went after him- that's what I heard from Nara Shikamaru.'

'Well…' Kakashi started, after he regained his calm composure. 'Any particular reason why they ran away?'

'Well…' she bit her upper lip. 'There are suspicions that it's to find… Akatsuki…'

Kakashi paused,and thenheclosed the book he was reading.

'Don't worry- I'll speak to Captain about this.'