Warning from authoress: TLH here, there is a very large author's note at the bottom. If you have any questions, read it and email me, if your questions cannot be answered below. Or reply if you have anything that can help me out if you notice something wrong! I love reviews they make me happy, and also I feel all warm and fuzzy all day after reading then! Love ya and enjoy.

Soundtrack: Mer de Noms (album) by A Perfect Circle . . . Devil Inside (song) by Hikari Utada . . . FLCL Vol. 1: Addict (album) by Pillows . . . Serenade/For Fruits Basket (orchestral version)/Sky Blue (songs) on Fruits Basket, for Ritsuko Okazaki (album)

Disclaimer: seethefirst chapter!

Chapter 3: Hide Away
To say that the ANBU were not frustrated and drained when they finally caught up to Sakura would not have been an exaggeration. The abilities of the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage of Konoha were well known throughout the five nations. Even to civilians, Sakura's reputation as an expert medic quickly preceded her arrival on the street.

However, the ANBU were not uncertain about her ability, for she out ranked them for more reasons than just being the Fifth's Apprentice. It made perfect since that she could manipulate them into running around in circles for some time before they realized it.

But how she managed to elude them, sending them all on a wild goose chase, while actually only traveling a relatively short distance after that, was frustrating and down right surprising. They were ANBU, but she still managed to lose them like babes in the wood.

Without Akamaru's nose, they may never have found her in time. They could never doubt her skill with genjutsu, chakra control, or her scary strength. And when they finally did find her, they knew they never would.

Now, it was not totally uncommon for the loved ones of fallen ninja, whether they are shinobi themselves or not, to act out in a violent manner toward themselves or those around them. Sakura was no exception; the scene that greeted them was definitely a violent cry for help on many levels.

In spite of the snow that flew around them in a sudden maelstrom, they could see her, and her outbursts . . . and even though they were ANBU, that didn't mean they weren't stunned at the scene they happened upon.

Sakura really hadn't traveled very far; she just went fast with many twists and turns to throw off those she knew to be following. The releasing of her chakra acting as her outlet and spurring her onward until she found some type of haven. She landed in a silent clearing and momentarily took in her surroundings before recognition dawned on her. It was the training ground that Kakashi had first tested the freshly formed Team 7 with the bell test. Still panting from the sudden exertion of chakra, she scanned the woods nearby but knew the ANBU wouldn't take too long in discovering her.

Even though the field was blanketed heavily with snow, she could make out the three sparring pillars and the outline of the black stone monument in the distance. Her heart ached when she thought of his name carved into it, just as the fresh as the snow that came up to her shins.

She suddenly felt overwhelmed by all her inner turmoil, the nightmares that had started plaguing her once peaceful dreams, the tension of the burial, the loss, her own exertion, and her feelings of her own inadequacy . . . it was all becoming too much for the strong kunoichi, and she neededto release everything . . .

She screamed.

She screamed until she was out of breath and her lungs and throatstung from lack of oxygen. The sting becoming a burning sensation as she took a deep breath of the biting cold air to steady herself. Scanning the area, she felt the ANBU and knew that her scream had definitely alerted them to her position.

As a final act of freedom, and maybe some defiance, before she was taken back, she quickly summoned as much chakra as she could into her feet. She shot up like a bullet into the air, and then everything froze as she reached the peak of her ascent and stopped for what really felt like an eternity in midair. She smiled and closed her eyes to savor the feelings that flooded through her and released into the atmosphere.

Shefeltlikeshe wasflying weightless like a bird without wings. She feltsthat shewould never come down again, and she really didn't want to. In her analytical mind, she could compare it to a really great game of hide-n-seek, where she had the best hiding spot: Right where no one thinks to look, right under their noses.

However, it may have been the best hiding place, but just like free falling from heights of roughly ten stories, you have to come out eventually. Everything that goes up must come down, no matter how much they don't want to.

Her smile vanished as she felt gravity finally take hold of her and pull her rebellious body relentlessly back to the ground. She sighed as she finally opened her eyes as the feeling of being weightless vanished and was replaced by a turn in her stomach from the swiftly changing altitude. She flipped in the air so that she was coming down head first, like Lee's Lotus attack. She brought one of her fist back and summoned all the chakra that was left from the sprint and the jump to her clenched fist and let gravity take it's course.

Here was the release she craved, pure and simple physical exertion. She let her breath catch in her throat as Inner Sakura yelled a 'HELL YEAH!' and she anticipated the upcoming ground. As her chakra-laden fist collided with the ground, she let everything she had left, flow into that one punch.

The ground, frozen as it was, shattered like glass in a neat circle, with approximately a ten-meter radius in relation to the impact site. The ground that she had actually made contact with looked like a comet had struck it. It caused the ground to shift and rise violently outward and away like some sort of icy volcano, sending an eruption of ice, snow, and frozen-solid mounds of soil to come raining down all over area around the huge crater.

All the while, Sakura stood in the middle of it, watching the grounds upheaval, surveying the destruction and panting heavily. She let her now bloodied arm hang limp and useless at her right side as she stood up straight.

' Not enough . . . No, Not nearly enough! It's not "ENOUGH!"' her mind screamed and she shouted the last words as the ANBU finally made their way towards the source of the disturbance. She knew they had finally seen her and her hiding place had been found, but she didn't care.

She had to release every tension that had built up in her system over the last few years. Small things that shouldn't have mattered and larger things that slowly ate away at her soul had all finally reached their boiling point and she needed to release every single last one of them . . .

And it had to be now. There was so much emotional blockage now, and at any other time she would have had too many reservations to act out in anyway other than a short burst of temper. There was no other time than now, when this might be the only chance she may ever get.

"I may never see tomorrow . . . and there's nothing left anyway . . . I can be free, finally . . ." she whispered breathless and in a daze to no one in particular as she turned her attention on the nearest possible stress relieving device, an innocent, albeit very large, tree, and began beating the proverbial crap out of it as if it were her demons.

The ANBU, having found her just as she yelled out looked over the destruction she had caused before their arrival. Glancing at one another as she whispered some incoherent phrases that sounded a little too much like suicidal ranting for their tastes, they moved forward to restrain her and bring her back to the Hokage and the men that were waiting for her safe return. Neither of them were prepared for what she did next.

They watched in morbid fascination as she began beating the tree to the point that the opposite side began to splinter. They watched as she hit the truck with such ferocity that the tree in its entirety began to shake with the force of her blows. And to their utter amazement and disbelief, she didn't have any chakra flowing into her fists. The tree was being destroyed purely by her scary strength. Even Akamaru had the decency to shudder at the thought of being on the receiving end of such brute force.

They watched, completely unable to stop her, as she resorted to kicking the cracking tree when her arms gave out. Her hands were bleeding profusely at the knuckles and she had most likely broken several bones in both hands. Only when Akamaru decided to bark at the two stunned humans next to him, to get them to stop her from spilling more of her own blood, did they snap out of the trance they had fallen into and move forward to collect her battered body.

As one of them moved to place a hand on her shoulder to grab her attention and bring her back to reality, her already trembling legs gave out underneath her and she collapsed to her knees into the mussed snow at her feet already flecked with drops of flying blood. She glared up at the tree from the ground, for even though she had collapsed, the tree, albeit bloodied and cracked, still stood, a testament to her weakness.

When she showed signs of moving toward the tree with the intent of beating her own head against the stubborn oak to prove she was beyond that weakness, Akamaru moved next to her and sniffed at the apex of her neck and collarbone. She turned suddenly to Akamaru with emerald eyes glazed to a glassy state of calm and surprise. She then looked up to the ANBU around her as if just taking note of their presence ever being in the area, but with that calm demeanor slowly melting into one of exhaustion.

She had done a complete 180 on the physical and emotional spectrum, having literally fallen from heaven to what she could later describe as a living hell. She attempted to stand and take a step forward, but only managed that much before falling, unconscious, into the open arms of the nearest ANBU.

Looking down into the face of the fallen kunoichi, it was easy to easy to call her a fallen angel, for that was exactly what she was. Carrying her bridal style, careful of her wounds, the two ANBU contemplated what they knew of the young woman with cherry colored locks. They thought back to the men waiting for her.

Some were considered monsters once, while others' still were geniuses. They were all the strongest ever known. Not only were they the strongest, but also, the company she kept also consisted of those men that were once considered untouchable. But she had the audacity to touch them all and to love each of them in the unique way they had never known before her. And they had come to love her in return for everything she did.

It was only right. Let the strong rely on the strong, the only one's capable of supporting them. She had gathered the strongest to herself, and they protected her, and she protected and healed their scarred souls. She offered them a sanctuary in her open arms when they had nowhere else to hide. She was the guardian angel to a pack lost souls.

However, she had fallen from her own sanctuary, and now they carried her back to those men who had, unknown to the rest of the world, triggered her fall from grace. The ANBU were filled with guilt for standing aside numb as she took out her grief on herself. Yet, they still silently wondered what could have possibly pushed the poor ethereal woman over the edge.

We must all wait and see what tomorrow brings for no one knows what will happen until it happens . . . never lose sight of what you love and never forget those that love you . . . besides, we are always free, our prisons are the confines we place on ourselves, we can all fly like birds if we open the cage's door.

-TLH (above italicized quote by me, for Sakura, from Kusari, my OC. Don't worry, she'll only be in here if I want to bring her out to play, lol.)

Wow, this one seemed longer than the last two. And I am so sorry about the lack of updates, especially to you CloeyMarie. I got slowed down by the holidays and stuff, but that's a really horrible excuse when I've been on the computer so much with my iPod (my new baby) ! Anywayz, I really hope this one is good, it's definitely one of my more violent stories. I don't like to right about stuff when I am not certain on the all the facts. Like, with this story for instance, I have been trying to place when I detoured from canon (what does that mean anyway? O.o) in this story, and I have determined that its sometime after everything I know.(SPOILER ALERT) I have only seen up to episode 124, and that ended with Gaara coming to the rescue of Lee in the fight against Kimimaru in the Sasuke retrieval mission. But I know that Sasuke goes to Sound, Sakura trains under Tsunade, and the Akatsuki attack Sand to get Gaara's demon Tanuki (which no one apparently knows what that is either, but I think it's what they call a red panda, which is really a white and red raccoon that looks like a panda, and they are indigenous to Asia and the like. Hey if you don't believe me, look Asian raccoons or something and come up with your own opinion on the matter, I would love to discuss this matter further. Oops, I am rambling in parenthesis, I need to stop that, LOL.). Back to the subject, I have gotten mixed feedback on the matter of the Tanuki's extraction so I don't know about that, along with other tiny tidbits that I hear everywhere, I know a lot, but can only connect little bits. Lol. (END SPOILER ALERT)

Well that's some author's note. Hehe. And back to what I had to say, if anyone wants to clue me in on the gaps in my time line, let me know please, and about my story, here is a few things I thought may need some clearing up:

About the height of Sakura's jump and fall. I saw the Chuunin exams, I know how tall the trees in that forest are, they are BIG! So, if Sakura, when she was a Chuunin, could jump to some of the highest branches in those threes, travel from branch to branch, and fight on the branches, it stands to reason that she could easily jump the height of a several story building in one push with her amazing chakra control and scary strength combined, especially after her training with Tsunade-sama.

Also, about the nightmares, they will become relevant in later chapters.

About the actual time in this chapter verses imaginary time, I understand that this may throw you off. Please try to understand that this chapter is mainly in imaginary time. That means that I kinda made it seem longer that it really was. Sakura doesn't really stop in midair, she rises rapidly with a possibility of slowing once she reaches her maximum height before plummeting just as quickly down to earth. The ANBU and Akamaru only take about five to ten minutes to locate her and another ten minutes is wasted watching her. See time is kinda confusing here.

Finally, about the ANBU's inability to help and do their job, I hope I made it clear in the beginning that I think Sakura is totally kick-ass awesome (oh, I cursed, I've been doing that a lot lately, sorry, anyways). But that's aside the point. She does have excellent skill in genjutsu and in my opinion she could easily lose pursuers. And as for their dumbstruckness (hehe, not a word), I also had to imagine myself faced with something really strong, really fast, and really angry. Would I be able to move if placed before that, and considering that she is well known for her skills, I would be shocked, wouldn't you, ne?

Now, any more questions can be answered via personal email, and I thank you all for your patience with me. I am an extremely lazy procrastinator and my muse hasn't been speaking to me and I haven't been dreaming (meaning I haven't been going through all my sleep cycles and thus, I am always tired, and my inspiration comes from my muse, sleep, and my dreams). I haven't been able to come up with any good art, and I need to color a picture that I have been working on for a while now.

Thanks again for everyone who reviewed. I love you all. But I must go now.