Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! It warms my heart to see I'm getting a reaction to this story, and that people are, indeed, enjoying it. Of course I do write for myself as well as the fans, it's always the most rewarding when you see others reacting to the story and feeling for the characters.

Sacrifice: Wilted Blossom of Spring

Chapter 3: Self Decimation, Part 1

Standing silently amongst the trees in the pavilion, Sakura kept her eyes fixated on the building Anko had disappeared within moments before. The anxiety she felt for her comrade's safety had her fidgeting; her eyes flew in every direction imaginable, looking for any sort of threat, mostly of the male type. Shikamaru had noticed almost immediately her discomfort and put her in a position where she would not hinder the mission with her restlessness. Internally, she was as thankful for the distance as she was apprehensive.

When Anko's familiar silhouette came into view atop the ancient building, a sigh of relief escaped Sakura. Anko was fine. They would be leaving and she could curl up in her room and regain her control, hiding away from the demons that stalked her shadow.

"Objective complete." Anko voiced over the radio, her enjoyment apparent in the manner of which she spoke. "Much easier than expected."

"Good. We'll meet in the clearing then head back to Konoha from there." Shikamaru stated. "Everyone, head there in groups of two. I'll wait for Anko, and Hinata and Sakura will go on ahead and meet us there. Is that clear?"

Everyone responded with a positive answer before splitting into their subgroups. Hinata met with Sakura seconds after the decision had been made, and now they flew with speed and grace toward the final stop in the clearing.

"Sakura?" Hinata's light voice called. "Is there something wrong?"

Her plastic smile forced its way onto her face. "I'm fine Hinata! It just seems slightly off that we've met no resistance."

"That is strange." Hinata frowned. "We shouldn't let our guard down."

Sakura watched Hinata activated her Byakugan and began searching around for any enemies that were lying in wake. Being on a mission for a week and meeting absolutely no resistance, especially on an A-rank mission, was disturbing and seemingly disastrous. All Sakura's senses were jumbled and dysfunctional since her last mission, but she could tell something was off. The air didn't sit right with her—it was tense and had a strange scent to it, like burning wood.

'Burning… wood?'

"Hinata!" Sakura screeched, bounding over to her pale eyed friend, wrapping her arms around the petite girl and sending them flying toward the forest floor.

The canopy of trees they had been traveling through exploded, shreds of explosive notes flying down in embers as the two women hit the dirt. Sakura groaned and rolled off her friend, lying on her back and breathing hard. That had been too close. Her body ached, but she reached into her pack and then turned to look Hinata over and treat her wounds.

Hinata wasn't there.

It took about three seconds for Sakura to realize she had rescued them from the explosive notes only to trap them in a genjutsu. Cursing, she began her hand seals.

"Kai!"

The genjutsu slowly dissipated, and Hinata appeared beside Sakura, lying prostrate on her stomach. There was a possibility of broken bones, so tentatively Sakura flipped the girl onto her back.

"Sakura… what was that?" Hinata questioned. "What happened?"

"Be quiet, I have to administer emergency treatment. Naruto will kill me if I take you home this battered and bruised."

Hinata smiled sadly. "He'll be upset with me if you come home hurt. He's been very worried about you lately."

"I don't see why." Sakura lied, positioning her arms over Hinata's fractured ribs. "I'm perfectly fine."

Silence befell the duo, Sakura slaved over shoving her chakra into Hinata to heal her ribs to the point she could move without much discomfort. When a squirrel would hop in the remnants of the trees, Sakura would jump and her eyes would race around the area.

The fear imbedded in her gaze didn't go unnoticed by her friend. Hinata was worried, but she knew better than to badger Sakura for answers.

"What was that?"

Sakura jumped, breathing fast to calm her racing heart. Shikamaru's voice had been unexpected and had her unconsciously tugging at her sleeves.

"We fell into a double trap." Sakura reported through the radio.

"Are you guys injured?"

That had been Anko.

"I'm fine, and Hinata has a few cracked ribs but otherwise she's okay." Sakura responded.

Static befell the radio before Shikamaru responded. "We're going to round over towards you and then we'll head straight back to Konoha."

"Don't." Hinata stated meekly. "You won't be able to get to us, at least not just the two of you. We're here to lure you through the rest of the traps."

Sakura set her eyes on Hinata, watching how she used the Byakugan to scout around them.

"Can't you instruct them how to get here and where to avoid?" she asked, receiving a negative answer with the shake of her friends head.

"I can't predict how many traps are around here, Shikamaru, but I know there are a lot more." Hinata responded through the radio. "You might as well get another team assembled. If you can, get Kiba-kun. His nose will help in sensing traps."

Hinata sat up and held her ribs, smiling gratefully at Sakura. She smiled back, standing to inspect the area around them while they waited for Shikamaru's judgment. She was not looking forward to spending the night out there alone with an injured person, trapped in myriad of deadly puzzles that only their captors knew how to undo and avoid. They were sitting ducks for whoever decided to attack— they had nowhere to run, no back up to count on, and one slip could cost them their lives.

Sakura couldn't help it. She started shaking again. If those that set the traps were shinobi, there was no telling what they would do when they found two vulnerable kunoichi. There was no way she'd let Hinata endure what happened to her—she'd throw herself in the way first… she'd even let it happen to herself once more just to protect Hinata from that pain. It had taken so long for her to gain the confidence she had—it wasn't going to go to waste over a male's primal urges.

"Are you sure there is absolutely no way for us to get to you with out extra help?" Shikamaru asked, his voice showing apprehension.

"I'm positive." Hinata responded, leaning against stump to pull herself into a standing position. "We're still fully equipped with our weapons, so we'll be capable of fighting and defending ourselves until you get back."

"We…" Sakura hesitated slightly. "We have enough supplies to last three days. After that, we'll need to venture out a bit for food and water."

The next voice they heard was Anko's. "Take shifts sleeping you two. We'll back in about three days."

'I'm alone… with an injured person, vulnerable to any attack from anyone…'

Sakura couldn't deny it any longer. She was scared, she wanted to go home. This was a nightmare.

"Hinata, you should rest first. Take a drink of this, and then sleep. It will help your injuries."

--

"What happened?" Naruto exploded, knocking over the paperwork on Tsunade's desk.

As soon as Shikamaru had arrived back with only one other member of his party, Tsunade had feared for the worst. Being trapped alone in a forest in enemy territory was by no means the worst scenario she had envisioned; actually, it had never crossed her mind. She was simply relieved that her pupil and the Hyuuga heir were, indeed, alive and well. When Naruto had come barging into her office, she had already assembled the appropriate team to retrieve the two kunoichi.

She'd have to add one more person to her list; Naruto was too obstinate to sit back while his friends were in danger, let alone his girlfriend and Sakura.

"Naruto, get off my desk, now." She stated through gritted teeth.

"Tsunade-baa-chan, what happened to them?" He persisted, backing off her desk only to slump into a chair directly in front of it. "Why wasn't I put in the team to retrieve them?"

Shikamaru sighed. "You're too troublesome for such a sensitive mission."

"What was that?"

"You heard him, moron." Kiba responded. "You're not suited for this mission."

"And you are, dog boy?"

"Naruto, calm down before I take you out of service permanently!" Tsunade threatened. "Would you sit still and listen for five minutes?"

"Dobe."

Naruto's eyebrow began to twitch. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Sasuke-teme."

"Remind me again why you're all Jounins?" Tsunade sighed, the sarcasm in her remark finally quieting the bickering.

She turned her gaze around the room, inspecting the assembled rookie Jounins. Shikamaru stood on the left, Neji beside him. It hadn't been much of choice—Neji was a required given for this mission, his Byakugan an invaluable tool to search for traps and ambushes. Next was Naruto, sitting in the chair before her, Kiba behind him. Across from Kiba was the final member of the mismatched group, Sasuke. Tsunade's eyes narrowed a bit when she spotted him.

The only people she had called for were Neji and Kiba; Naruto had been an afterthought. She was hoping he would be the one to tell Sasuke and Kakashi what had happened. How Sasuke had discovered the need for able bodied men to retrieve the two kunoichi, she didn't know. It left lingering questions she couldn't ask at the moment; the main priority was to get this mission underway and bring back the injured Hyuuga and Sakura.

'Are you holding up alright, Sakura? I can only imagine the fears you're having right now…'

No matter what Tsunade could say to herself, she was worried sick about Sakura. After what happened on her last mission, she could picture how jumpy and ill prepared the girl was for this situation. She could only hope that Sakura had made some smart decisions.

Sasuke noticed her interrogating gaze—it wasn't unexpected. How was the Godaime to know he had been standing out by Konoha's gate when Shikamaru returned without Sakura? He'd come to the office on instinct, needing answers to his questions and the nipping suspicions he'd created. It had been a relief to realize Sakura wasn't dead; but the way she had been acting recently didn't settle well with him—he could only hope she'd overcame her hesitance. In battle, she didn't have the time to look away from her enemy or adjust her clothing. Also, with an injured person by her, long range combat was out of the question.

Without being asked, Sasuke had decided he'd be on the rescue team as well, if only to assure himself his suspicions were there simply to keep him from getting to sleep and not because something was actually wrong. Sasuke hated losing sleep, and he hated it more when it was because he needed to piece together the strange behaviors of his female companion. Sakura's image and actions had been grating at his nerves ever since their first Jounin mission—he'd find his answers sooner as opposed to later.

"Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata are in the forest just outside the Country of Fire. After running into a double trap containing explosive notes and what we're assuming is genjutsu, Hyuuga Hinata was injured. With these said injuries, Haruno Sakura was forced to care for her. It was then discovered that they were surrounded by many other traps, and possibly by an unknown number of enemy shinobi and assailants. It's your job to go, retrieve them, and come back safely. I expect you all to prepare tonight and leave at dawn."

Tsunade took one last glance at the team that had assembled—it was really too many people for such a mission, but she knew she would not be talking Naruto out of going. For some reason, she had the distinct feeling Sasuke would go even if she forbade him to. Sighing, she waved her hand to dismiss them.

The group of 5 disappeared, agreeing to meet at the entrance to the hidden village a half hour before dawn broke.

Author's Notes: You all probably do not believe me, but this actually is going to prove crucial if I play my cards right. I promise this wasn't a spur of the moment idea or plot twist. nods See, I'm showing some concern from Sasuke toward Sakura, no matter how minute, it's important. Remember to review!

Love and hugs—

Crystal Renee