A/N: Yay! I got, at minimum, 7 reviews, but a large amount of hits for just one chapter. You must really love this story to read and leave behind hits instead of reviews (growl). Thank you everyone!

Now in the last chapter, for those of you that read, Sakura was on her mission and was attacked by two strangely dressed men. She later on finds out that one of the men is the brother of her beloved, Uchiha Sasuke. Itachi and his friend have run off with the scroll of Konoha and took Ayame as a hostage. It was after this predicament that Sakura decided to go after her newfound friend and rescue her, along with the scroll, from the clutches of pure evil.

This chapter is not as long as the first (nor as good in my eyes), but I hope you'll still like it and not take me off your alert or favorites list. .

I've just recently started high school (yes, I'm a freshman. :P) so it'll be somewhat harder for me to update. So bear with me if my chapters take so long to be posted.

Also, I'm still confused about this whole beta thing…could someone be kind enough to explain? Thanks…

Again, I am asking you to review. Please and thank you! Enjoy the second chapter of The Promise to Protect.

The Promise to Protect

Chapter Two

The Missing Friend

Naruto heaved a depressed sigh. It'd been a complete year since his dearest friend had left to execute a mission. He had received letters from her every month, assuring him that everything was okay. But this month he received no such thing. He composed one and sent it to the address she was staying at just a few weeks ago, but no reply came. Naruto was practically on the tip of his nerves just worrying about Sakura.

There he sat in a large tree on the highest branch that oversaw most of the village of Konoha. The sky was as blue as always and the clouds looking as soft and fluffy as a stuffed animal. Beneath the tree that he sat upon, he could hear children laughing as they were dismissed from the academy. He looked a little to the left and saw Ten-Ten and Hinata laughing as they shared some candy with each other.

Seeing everyone else so happy made him feel even more depressed. Especially when he knew that Sakura and Sasuke had a chance at this happiness and gave it up for an ambition.

Seconds later Lee appeared at his side, effectively interrupting his thoughts. The boy clad in green latex jumpsuit with leg warmers grinned with a sparkle as bright as the morning sun.

"Naruto-san, Tsunade-sama is calling for you. You have another mission."

The usually energetic jinchuuriki exhaled sadly. He stood up and nodded at Lee. "Thanks Lee. I'll go see her right now." He said and leapt from the branch he was sitting on.

"Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen two men dressed in dark coats with red clouds on them? They were traveling with a lady."

The lady standing behind the desk of a hotel located in the Dream country at first shook her head, paused, but then nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes, yes! I remember them. They were here just a few hours ago. They left with some other man. I remember them because they stayed her for quite some time." The plump receptionist replied.

Sakura nodded, absorbing the information like a sponge. "Do you know which way they went?" She asked hoping that she might follow their trail without once losing an idea of where they were headed. The kunoichi sighed when the receptionist shook her head gravely. Then she fished out her small purse from her pouch and looked at her funds. She decided to rent a room for the night. After receiving her room number, she headed straight for her room and set her stuff aside.

Fatigue made her lie down on her twin sized bed the instant she stepped into the rented space. She hadn't slept since the night that Ayame was kidnapped. It'd been two whole days and she was already at the border of the Dream country. She only had come that far thanks to the crumbs of information coming from witnesses that had claimed to have seen the men.

But this was as far she got without collapsing on the road out of exhaustion. The fact that Itachi had used some sort of genjutsu with his sharingan didn't help either. She was still feeling the effects of his kekkei genkai. Adding two days of traveling without rest just wasn't helping.

Letting her eyes close for just a few seconds, Sakura soon drifted off into a restless slumber.

A loud thud woke her up from her light sleep a day later. She sat up groggily observing her surroundings. She nearly cried out in shock when she saw a room coated in a light shade of pink with a painting of a sakura tree not far from the door. But then she recalled that she was in a hotel close to the border of Dream.

Wondering what the thud was for, Sakura stood up and stretched. She noted that the sound had come from the room beside her. Feeling resentful (it'd woken her up) and thankful (allowing her to eavesdrop easily) for the thin wall in between each room, Sakura lightly pressed her ear to the wall and listened carefully for any sound. Her interest went up a notch when she heard a somewhat feminine voice speak about a suspicious plan.

"So…you guys are just about done. How lucky you two are…yeah…" A man with a bluish-grey eye drawled unhappily.

"Don't worry Deidara. You and Sasori should be able to finish up soon. You two are probably just slacking off." A familiar voice sounded.

"Shut up, Fish Man. You have a good partner. Anybody that would end up being paired with him would most likely finish their job right away, yeah…" Deidara replied sourly.

Sakura didn't know who this 'him' was, but she knew from the way they'd talked about him that he was extremely powerful. She made a wild guess, hoping that she was correct but not sure yet. She did, however, know who the 'Fish Man' was. All she needed was a verbal confirmation from the man who was currently speaking.

The room became silent after that, as if they were listening for something.

She began to fear that she may have been found out. She'd made sure she hadn't made a single peep, but somehow she was sure that they knew she was there without her making a sound.

There was a short brisk knock on her door. When Sakura didn't answer it, the sound became slightly louder.

Mentally sighing at the persistence of the knocking when she was busy, Sakura stood up quietly and headed for her door. When she opened the door, she saw that it was the receptionist from the front desk. The medic nin gave the lady an inquiring look. "Yes ma'am? Can I help you?"

The lady nodded feverishly. "Miss, you remember when you asking about those men with those dark coats? Well, they've returned."

Emerald eyes narrowing in acknowledgement, Sakura nodded. "Thank you ma'am, you don't know how much this means to me." Sakura whispered. "But which room are they staying in?"

Plump skin paling instantaneously, the receptionist pointed a trembling finger to the door of the next room.

Sakura nodded seriously. "Thank you." She said and shut her door as silently as she could when the receptionist scurried down the hallway.

She seated herself by the wall again to see if she could hear anything. But the moment she'd found a comfortable position, another knock sounded at her door. Groaning in a miniscule amount of annoyance, she stood up and roughly opened the door, expecting to see the lady from the front desk again. "Um, excuse me ma'am but I'm a bit tired from traveling so it would be nice if I could just sleep for a…" She let her words hang as she saw another person other than the receptionist.

"I'm sorry to bother, miss. But is it possible if you have an extra blanket there with you? My friends and I are having a sort of sleepover…yeah…" The man asked politely and beamed a little bit. Or was he a man?

Sakura's mind told her that the person in front of her was a man, but her eyes were trying hard to deceive her. There before her stood a guy with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and long bangs covering his left eye. His right eye had a bluish-green hue to it. He was pretty tall compared to Sakura, whose height wasn't that notable to begin with. He resembled a girl in a strange point of view.

The more she thought about it, this guy reminded her of Naruto. The blonde hair, the bluish eyes, the easy smile…

He wore a black mesh shirt and loose, crumpled black pants. The article of clothing that caught her attention the most, though, was the forehead protector he wore. It had the symbol of the Stone village with a long even slash marring its crude perfection.

Sakura backed up slightly. "Um…uh…I think I might have a few extra. How many do you need?"

The man scratched his head sheepishly with one of his hands. He began to count slowly with his fingers.

With her keen observation skills, Sakura spotted what looked like a hole in his hand. Her eyebrow rose slightly at the sight. What was wrong with his hand?

He finally finished counting. "Well, I only have three blankets. Do you think you can spare two?"

Nodding curtly, Sakura let her guest in and hurried to the closet to retrieve two cotton blankets. She wasn't expecting him to start a small conversation.

"You have a name…yeah?" He asked kindly, leaning against the wall nonchalantly, blue eye gleaming.

She paused, a few feet away from the closet door. Should she give him her name? It was obvious that this man was a missing nin from the village of Stone. But he did seem friendly enough. Perhaps she could trust him and only him. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"So it's Haruno, Sakura, eh?" He tested her name on his tongue and grinned after he repeated her name numerous times. "It suits you. My name is Deidara. I used to live in the Stone village…yeah…"

As if sensing this man was going to be a person in whom she could confide with, Sakura smiled for the first time in many days. She thought it was peculiar how he'd add 'yeah' to the end of his sentences. His personality was light and cheerful, full of ease and patience. Yup, this man was definitely someone Sakura could trust.

"Well, if you haven't figured it out already, I'm from the Konoha Village." She replied and took out three clean sheets.

A low whistle was heard from Deidara. "You've come a long way, from Konoha to Dream. What brings you here? I'd like to know…yeah."

Sakura's face shadowed almost instantly, but she quickly recovered by flashing him one of her biggest smiles. "I'm on a mission." She answered defensively, but subtly, and handed Deidara the blankets.

"Ah…I see," He replied took the blankets from Sakura. "Hey! I have an idea! Why don't you come over next door and I'll give you some dinner? Three other guys are there and there's a girl there too. C'mon, you'll have tons of fun talking to me and Kisame." Deidara insisted, not noticing that in his excitement he'd dropped his overused adverb.

'Should I?' Sakura contemplated and was considering Deidara's offer, but when she thought about the possibilityof Itachi being there, she had to decline. "I'm sorry, Deidara-san…"

"Deidara," he corrected kindly. "Only acquaintances say my name with honorifics. You're not just an acquaintance."

She nodded in acceptance, but still continued her kind rejection. "Well, I can't accept the offer Deidara."

"Why?"

Sakura shrugged a bit carelessly. "Just 'cause…"

Deidara stood silently in his spot and appeared to be in thought. Another smile broke through his face as he obviously came up with an idea. "Hold on." He said excitedly and rushed out of the room. He came back with two bowls of rice, a plate of sushi, and a small bowl of fruits. "Since you won't come over, I'll be the one that will!"

Unable to restrain a laugh, she had to giggle at the sight of her new buddy juggling four plates in two hands, she went to go and assist him.

They both had a fun dinner, hushed but nonetheless entertaining. She learned much about Deidara, like how he had a mouth in his each of his hands just to help him in battles. He enjoyed art. But not the art that stood still and motionless. He believed that art was something more…fleeting, as he'd put it. He enjoyed making clay figurines and watching them move. Therefore Sakura had deducted that this man probably had to use his ability to manipulate clay in battle.

Then the moment of truth and confirmation came. She listened to Deidara babble for a few minutes before voicing her question.

"Um…Deidara-san?"

Deidara glared good-naturedly at her for a second.

Sakura scoffed nervously at her mistake. "Oh sorry…Deidara, who are your friends?" She asked quietly, hoping that he'd provide her the right answer.

"Which friends are you talking about? Do you mean the ones next door?"

She nodded.

A lopsided smile squirmed onto Deidara's clear features. "I wouldn't exactly say we're the friends you have in mind. We don't share secrets with each other. But we pretty much do things that friends do. You know, hang out, have something similar to sleepovers, help each other…that kind of stuff…yeah…"

'He went completely off topic…' The rosette haired kunoichi thought unbelievably.

As if knowing her exact thoughts, Deidara apologized. "Oh, you wanted to know their names. Well, there's Sasori, Kisame, and Itachi."

Trying hard to not show that she'd met them, Sakura bit the inside of her lip. "And the girl; what about her?"

Deidara shrugged casually. "Don't know. Some girl they had to take from a mission. They said there was another girl with her that was a kunoichi, but Kisame said that she didn't put on much of a fight…yeah…"

Sakura brightened up a bit when she heard that Ayame was just next door. But she felt disheartened to know that she was still in the enemy's grasp and that the kidnappers thought she was weak. Why did everyone think she was weak?

"Ah…I see." She spoke before silencing herself with a cup of tea, looking out the window with a look of longing and desolation evident in her eyes.

"What do you mean by missing! She can't be missing. She was personally escorted by Shikamaru and Neji, how can she be MISSING!" Naruto slammed his fist on the wood of Tsunade's desk.

The female Hokage covered her defended her ears by placing her hands over them. Once he ended his short-lived rant she moved her hands to the desk and folded them together. "Listen, Naruto, I'm just as confused as you are. If something had happened, she should've told us."

The jinchuriki's eyes flickered blood red for a second, full of rage and disappointment. "Well, are you just going to sit there? Aren't you going to send out a search party?"

"As much as I'd want to, it's just not possible. Most of the Chunin's and Genin's are out on missions." She replied calmly, holding down her own emotions as well as she could.

Tears welling up in his eyes, Naruto mustered up another death-causing glare. "You're not doing anything! Nobody's doing anything!" He snarled. Crying was not something that was expected, but it suited the moment. He'd first lost Sasuke, a dear friend and rival, and now he lost his best friend? Losing two important people in his life took a major blow on the ignorant blond Chunin. How much more could he, and would he, take?

Tsunade's patience snapped when he'd commented on her act of laziness. She stood up ungracefully and glared down at the younger boy. "Don't you dare accuse me of not trying to help, Naruto. You're not the only one who's been affected by this! Sakura was and still is my student! Why should I act like nothing's happened when she's obviously gone? What is the purpose in me acting like I don't care! Of course I care!"

Naruto bit the inside of his lip in an attempt to bite back any rude comments. His tears had dried up but he immediately saw that Tsunade's had just begun to fall off her delicately youthful face and onto the cold desk. One look at the Hokage made him inwardly admit that she was right and he was wrong. "I…I'm sor-"

"Naruto, you have my permission to go and look at the site where Sakura is supposed to be. The next two Chunins that walk through my door are to go with youl, understand?" Tsunade sniffed and looked to the floor, tears still cascading down her clear countenance.

What else could he do but to agree? "Yes."

He turned to head out of the office. But just as he was just under the threshold, he heard he crumble into another sob. Head bowing in respect, he took one step and paused when she spoke almost inaudibly but loud enough for only him to hear.

"Please bring her back, Naruto." She whispered lightly.

Naruto nodded, his eyes shadowed by his golden locks. Once the door closed behind him, he ran out of the building to head home and pack. But just as he was about ready to leave he remembered the leader's words and exhaled slowly. This situation was reminding him of his mission to retrieve Sasuke. But this time it was different. It was to find Sakura, his best friend.

He grabbed a pillow and smothered his face with it as the long-held tears began to fall.

Two pairs of eyes glared at the Kyubi container, one a pale shade of violet, the other, an annoyed hue of brown.

"What did I tell you? I knew we'd get stuck with him!" Neji snapped unhappily.

"Stop complaining. You complimented him a few years back so I don't see any reason why you're treating him like sh-"

"Okay! Let's go!" Naruto declared enthusiastically as he rechecked his bag, which he'd hastily stuffed with ramen. Just as he was about to march into the world unknown, Shikamaru growled.

"You don't know where you're going, Naruto. Shouldn't you wait for the persons who've already been to the destination?"

Naruto pouted and hunched his back dejectedly. "Fine…lead the way, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru smirked at the submission of power from the jinchuuriki of Konoha. "Great…" He drawled and leapt into one of the nearby trees, Neji following suit after waiting a few seconds.

Sighing all the while during the travel, Naruto vaguely wondered if Sakura had truly disappeared or not. In his mind hoped she wasn't.

"Dang, she's good!" Shikmaru gaped in surprise. He was looking at the manor, chocolate brown eyes wide.

Neji had gawked the first few seconds before they'd arrived (he'd used his Byakugan) but now he was trying to avoid looking at it too much.

"What are you guys talking about? Wasn't the house always like this?" Naruto asked confusedly.

A smirk made its way onto Shikamaru's features as he recalled the state that the manor had been in. "Nope Naruto. This house was in bad condition than you can probably imagine. Sakura-san did a well done job." He said positively…surprisingly.

Shikamaru had been telling the truth. The doors were once again pristine white with no soot, the roof looked brand new, the floorboards looked scrubbed, the iron gate no longer looked rusty, and the rat hole that contained numerous rats was filled in with thick wood. The house looked like a model home.

Naruto smiled gleefully. "I can't imagine this house looking bad at all."

"Let's not forget our mission." Neji spoke flatly as he made his way through the gate, wanting to get over with the mission as quickly as possible.

Naruto's face shadowed almost instantly as Sakura's smiling face flashed through his mind. 'Sakura-chan you better be here…' He thought gruffly and shifted uneasily in his jacket.

The three of them passed through many halls and corridors, trying to find the room where Sakura resided. They finally found it when the found a silver nameplate just outside a particular door. Shikamaru tapped lightly on the door for five minutes…nobody answered.

Neji knocked heavily on the door for five minutes as well…still no answer.

Naruto by now had fallen asleep in the ten minutes that the other two had been using to try to get Sakura to open her door. He woke up on a certain loud knock and yawned. Irritated blue eyes glared at the other two. 'How lame can these two get? I'll show them how it's done…' He concluded arrogantly.

Roughly pushing Shikamaru and Neji out of the way, Naruto stood in front of the door and calmed down his energy. After a few moments of meditation, he brought up his right leg, violently kicked down the door, and casually walked inside, leaving the other two gaping open-mouthed at the damage.

The moment the blond Chunin set foot in Sakura's room, her scent overwhelming his inhuman senses. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a few moments to breathe in the air. It smelled like her apartment. He could imagine her residence back in Konoha, nice, neat, and clean. But when he opened his eyes, the sight that lay before him shocked him out of his mind.

Author's Note: Aha! A cliffie chapter. Hehe...what fun...nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it. Again, not my best chapter. But I've only written two so far...I think it didn't go to well...

Anyway, I've been checking my stats on daily as I continued to write this chapter. It disappoints me at how many reviews I've received when there are more than 100 hits. Please people, and author's second joy (besides reading other good stories) on this sight is receiving reviews on their work, whether they be critically constructive or just pure support. So I will stress this fact again, PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you.