Me: No im not dead! Just took a looooong ass break…. Anyways, I have no idea how old this story is…but I found it in my files and thought what the hell lets post it. Im not exactly sure what I had been thinking when I was writing this so I hav no clue where the story is gonna go…but yea, the group is 16-17 now…and Sasuke didn't go to Orochimaru…anyways I hope u like it.

Chapter 1:

That Night


Sakura ran through the empty streets of Konoha. It was eerily silent and still. The moon shone down as her only source of light. She stopped for only a minute to scan her surroundings. Confusion entered her thoughts. She suddenly felt lost and scared. The scenery swirled and twisted before her. Suddenly she was standing in a valley. Behind her a waterfall roared. But she wasn't concerned about that. It was what was going on in front of her that held her attention.

Sasuke-kun? Sasuke had his back to her but she could tell he was in a lot of pain. Instinctively she ran towards him but the closer she tried to get, the further he seemed to be. "Sasuke-kun!" She cried out. Her voice rang out in the valley. He turned around.

"You…"

Sakura stopped as he slowly walked towards her. She felt her heart beat increase and her breathing became heavy. But something wasn't right. She looked into his eyes and even though they were looking at her, he didn't see her. Terror raced through her body. She felt a cold, unwelcome chill go down the back of her spine, as he seemed to pass right through her. Fresh tears began to weld up in her eyes.

You're not strong enough.

The thought entered her mind as if someone had put it there. She turned around and saw Orochimaru. He smirked at her as he bent down and gave a light kiss on Sasuke's forehead.

Sasuke doubled over in pain and fell to the ground, his blood all around him. Sakura watched in horror as Orochimaru's skin melted away and he became Uchiha Itachi. He kicked over his brother's corpse to reveal another bloody and tattered body. Naruto.

You couldn't even protect your friends

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She screamed and ran towards her fallen teammates and the man responsible for their death. She jumped at Itachi, kunai in hand with fresh tears on her face and rage and pain in her heart. But just as she was about to come in contact with him, the world once again changed. She fell into a field of tall lush grass and wild flowers. She slowly stood up; fresh tears still streaming down her face. Her kunai fell from her hand and landed with a soft thud beside her.

Become stronger. The voice said in her head once again. A wind whipped around her, catching and playing with her short pink locks. She felt truly calm and serene for the first time in her life. Looking around she knew she had to be hundreds of miles from Konoha village. Everything slowly started to black out.


"I think she's coming around!"

"Baka, you've said that ten times already."

"No, no, look!"

Sakura moaned slightly at the loud noise coming around her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and let them adjust to the bright light. A boy with messy blonde hair looked down at her worriedly for a second before a wave of relief passed over his features. The raven-haired boy had on his poker face like always. "Naruto…Sasuke-kun? Wh-what…"

"Sakura-chan! You're ok!" Naruto all but screamed at his pink haired teammate. He pulled her into a tight bear hug.

Sakura winced at how loud he was. "Naruto…you're…that kinda hurts…"

"Gomen nasai Sakura-chan! I'm just so happy you're ok!" Naruto grinned sheepishly and sat back.

Sakura looked around to evaluate her surroundings. They were in the forest in a small clearing. A campfire was set up just a few feet away. Looking around she noticed their silver haired sensei was missing. "Ano sa…where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"I'm right here."

Sakura turned and saw him sitting on a stump. Still reading his god damn perverted book. "What…"

"We were taking our charge back to his village when a group of sound Nin's attacked us. Everything was going smoothly until our charge turned on us. He grabbed a large piece of wood and smacked you in the back of the head with it. He went on to beat you while you were unconscious. Which is why you are probably so sore and I wouldn't advice moving around too much." Kakashi took his attention from the book for a moment and looked over his student. A small smile formed under his mask he remembered the reaction on another student of his. Glancing to the Uchiha prodigy, he saw the boy was now vigorously poking at the fire, his mind elsewhere.

Sakura tried to remember what exactly had happened but it was all hazy. Her hand wandered to the back of her head where she felt a rather large bump. She winced slightly and quickly pulled her hand back. Man he got me good, ne?

"Sakura-chan, are you hungry?" Naruto broke her thoughts. He was holding a plate towards her face.

Looking down at the food, Sakura was about decline when her stomach spoke up. "Ha ha…uh, sorry." She blushed and took the plate. As she ate, her dream came back into her mind. What was that all about?

Sasuke looked over at his female teammate and noticed her daze off again. What's up with her? "Are you ok?"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts once again and looked at her crush, a small blush rising to her cheeks. "H-Hai, Sasuke-kun. I'm alright." She gave a small smile to try and reassure him. Turning back to her dinner, she began to quickly eat her food.

Something's defiantly not right.

Since when did you seem to care so much about her? A small voice in the back of his mind commented.

I don't…its just…oh shut up! She my teammate! And if she's not ok then that hurts us as a team!

Uh-huh. Sure you keep telling yourself that. How about how you reacted earlier today?

He was going to beat her to death!

You went berserk just like that one time in the Rain country.

No I didn't.

Yea…you did

No I didn't!

Don't deny it!

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke yelled out. He immediately realized what he had done and turned towards the other three members of his team. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at him, a mixture of confusion and shock on their faces. The embarrassed Uchiha prodigy coughed slightly and stood up, mumbling something about going to get more firewood.

Sakura yawned but quickly tried to cover it with her hand. She hoped no one saw it but unfortunately, Kakashi had.

"Sakura, you should lay back down and go to sleep. Its been a long day and we still have a days walk before we get back home. We can wait up for Sasuke to return."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei. Ano sa…you and Naruto should get some sleep. I want put on some medical cream that Tsunade-sama had given me before we left. It might take a while so I'll just wait for Sasuke-kun." Sakura smiled and reached for her medical bag. She looked over towards Naruto's sleeping bag and sweat dropped. He was already sound asleep, snoring.

"Well, it looks like you wont have to tell him twice." Kakashi smiled under his mask.

Sakura giggled quietly, "No…I guess not." She did have to admit that her blonde teammate had become very handsome in his own way. But she had to laugh. When he slept, he still looked like that troublemaker twelve year old. I can see why Hinata-chan would like you so much.

"I guess I'll let you handle things around here for a while. I'm going to go scope out the area. Be back in a few." Kakashi gave his student a small wave of the hand before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sakura sighed as silence settled on the camp. She began applying the cream to one of the cuts on her leg. Stinging pain shot through her body. Biting her lip to keep from screaming, she continued to apply the lotion. By the time she was finished, her lip was swollen and bleeding. She gave a small sigh of relief and began to put the medicine away when a rustling noise came from behind her. Turning, she flung her kunai at the shaking bushes. It disappeared into the thick foliage and slammed into something hard. Sakura smirked triumphantly until a familiar raven-haired boy came out with a hole in the sleeve of his shirt. Uh-oh…this isn't good…

"Damn it, Sakura! What are you trying to do? Kill me?" Sasuke growled at her and threw her kunai down at her feet.

"Gomen, Sasuke-kun! I thought it was someone else!" Sakura tried to be serious but the whole situation seemed very humorous to her. She put her head down to keep him from seeing the rising grin.

"Ah, Kuso!" Sasuke yelled.

Sakura looked up and noticed him holding his arm, which was bleeding. Now she was really feeling guilty about the incident. "Eh, Sasuke-kun, are you ok?"

"Yea I'm fine." He turned away from her. Damn it I hate looking weak in front of her.

Since when did you care what she saw of you? Sasuke decided to ignore the little voice that had been pestering him for the last hour.

"Come here. The least you could let me do is help heal it." Sakura said, almost to the point of begging. A part of her jumped with joy when she saw him walk towards her. He rolled up his sleeve and sat down next to her. "I'm going to warn you…this stuff stings at first." Sakura warned as she picked up the ointment again.

"Who do you think I am? Pain has no effect on me." Sasuke said coldly, trying to act superior. He seemed to miss the smirk that was tugging on the corners of the girl's lips as she slowly began to apply the cream. After a minute the stinging pain began. It wasn't bad for him at first but suddenly it became almost unbearable. He gritted his teeth and his face scrunched up. Damn I think this woman is trying to kill me!

"Are you ok?" Sakura tried to keep the mirth from leaking into her voice. She never liked to see him in pain but for some reason she always found it hilarious when he fell off his mighty "Im the best in the world because I'm the Uchiha prodigy" throne.

"Yea." He grunted through his teeth.

Sakura rolled her eyes and began to wrap the wound. Once she was done she gave the wrapping a quick kiss.

Sasuke looked questioningly at her. "What the hell was that for?"

A blush spread across her face. "Ah, um…well… whenever I got hurt my mom used to kiss it and make it feel better. Ha ha…but I guess its just some childish thing." She looked down, slightly embarrassed.

To Sasuke's surprise, it was feeling better. But he wasn't about to admit it. He stood up and walked over to sleeping bag. "Pft, women and their stupid, childish games. No wonder you're so weak." He immediately regretted what he had said once everything registered. But it was too late; the damage was done.

"…" Sakura lay down and rolled over so her back was to him. So that's all he sees me as. Weak, huh? Even after two years of special training under Tsunade-sama I'm still just a burden. A tear rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes. Exhaustion over took her and she fell back into a deep sleep.


Several hours later, Sakura awoke with a start. A cold sweat rolled down her skin and she was breathing heavily. It was only a nightmare. She looked around the camp and saw the fire long since been put out. Kakashi was in a tree above them, snoring with his perverted book over his face. She placed her hand over her wildly beating heart. That's it Sakura…deep breath in…and out…good.

A shifting sound from one of the boys caused her to jump slightly. The sound of Naruto's snoring and mumble about ramen caused a small sweatdrop to appear over her head. Looking up at the sky, she guessed it was about three in the morning.

Now's your chance while everyone is asleep. Inner Sakura pushed her.

But…Sakura tried to argue back. In the end, her conscious was making more sense. She was afraid. And the first step at becoming stronger was to face your fears. Picking up her medical bag, she pulled out another container. Taking a deep breath, she opened the lid. Using her chakra, she was able to move the powder in side the container to the three males of her team. Once she was satisfied that it was working, she closed the lid again and exhaled. Sleeping powder. Works like a charm. She giggled and quickly began to pack her belonging.

Walking back towards the path that they had come off of, she looked down at the sleeping Uchiha. Bending down, she brushed some of his raven hair out of his face. "I'm doing this for you…and Naruto. Take care of each other till I get back." She whispered. Standing back up, she surveyed the camp before turning and running off into the night.


Me: Watcha think? Review pwzzzzz!