A room filled with tipsy men and the smell of alcohol, was the last place Naruto expected to find his teammate. Nevertheless, he was elated to see her, standing atop a table with a blonde girl who was grinning ear-to-ear, coins overflowing in her hands.

The familiar sight of pink cropped locks and expressive green eyes made his heart warm and his eyes practically water with tears.

Unable to hold back his excitement any longer, he yelled, happiness clear in his voice.

"SAKURA!"

Suddenly, her body stiffened.

"Over here!"

She turned her form towards his voice slowly, which made Naruto hold his breath in anticipation.

He knew that it was her. She had the pink hair (a very unique color he doubted other women had…naturally speaking of course) the skin and the same height. It was just that he had suffered through so much disappointment in his life that he wasn't willing to go through another.

It had to be her.

It had to be his Sakura-chan.

The girl who punched him with no mercy whatsoever.

The girl who shared his laughs, tears and memories with.

The girl who he worried for that past few weeks.

And….the girl whom he loved ever since he saw her breathtaking smile.

"Oh kami…."

The familiar voice of his teammate brought him out of his thoughts.

"Is that you?"

Green eyes widened at the sight of Konoha nin, her family standing mere feet before her.

"N-naruto?"

The pinkette stepped off the table, leaving her new friend to wonder why.

"Where ya off to girl?"

A pout marred her pretty face at the sight of her companion leaving.

"Sorry Mimi, but I have something important to do."

A look of understanding appeared on the blonde's face as she nodded at Sakura's reply, which led Naruto to believe that she was no threat.

The medic-nin weaved through the mass of drunken males, her eyes never leaving his, with an expression of disbelief written across her features.

Once she was right in front of Naruto, she spoke, shock still evident on her features.

"Is that really you Naruto?"

His smile widened, showcasing a set of incredibly white teeth.

"You know it Sakura-chan!"

He gave her a thumbs-up, a move that was purely Naruto.

"Y-you're fat."

Her eyes scanned his form, which was bulky and lumpy.

"Eh-ehehe…..not really."

"More like trapped. He was duped by some nin." Shikamaru commented, rolling his dark brown eyes.

"Oh….how sad."

Sakura's lips tilted downwards, forming a cute little frown.

But before he could ponder on how adorable his teammate was, something caught up to him.

Her voice was….slightly slurred, which was a clear sign that she had been drinking for a while.

If that wasn't proof enough, then maybe the smell of sake wafting from her clothes was.

Sake?

Drinking?

That didn't seem very Sakura-like. Knowing her, she would most likely berate him or anyone she knew for drinking. Not only did it keep you from functioning well in life and on the battlefield, it was simply unhealthy.

A fact that an excellent medic-nin should be more than aware of.

"Are you drunk Sakura-chan?"

She shook her head.

"Nope. Why would you say that Naruto?"

She sounded very sure of herself. And maybe he would have believed her. If not for the fact that though she had been addressing him, she was facing Neji.

The blonde sweat dropped.

"We better get her upstairs. Maybe when she's sober, she'll tell us exactly what happened."

Neji, Kiba and Naruto all nodded at Shikamaru's idea.

It seemed like the best choice at the moment.

Besides, there was also the dilemma of bombs in the form of creepy crawlies inside his signature orange jacket.

"Good thinking Shikamaru. Let's go!"

"Sasuke-kun!" The red head of the group whined, her arms reached out to clutch the brooding man before her. But before she could even get near him, he moved away, his eyes never leaving the moon above them.

"Where?"

The mere sound of his cold voice made Karin shudder in pleasure. Unfortunately, she failed to pay any attention whatsoever to the syllable that had left his luscious lips.

"What my darling Sasuke-kun?"

Red eyes pierced her very soul.

"Where is she?"

The trance she was so thoroughly immersed in, vanished at the mention of another woman.

"You can't possibly mean the pink haired brat?!"

Behind them, Suigetsu guffawed.

"Aw…I think the bitch is jealous!"

She glared at him, her eyes wide and angry.

However when she turned back to her precious Saksuke-kun, her face relaxed and a smile appeared on her face.

"As I was saying Sasuke-kun...Why do you want to see her?"

When Karin's question went unanswered, she growled and flipped her glorious red mane of hair.

"Fine. She's-"

Just when she was going to point out a random direction, he interrupted her, a scowl on his handsome face.

"Don't lie…unless you don't value your life."

Fear and happiness filled her at the same moment. Fear because of the menacing aura around her would-be lover and happiness due to the fact he was looking at her.

"Whatever you want Sasuke-kun." She replied obediently, nodding before closing her eyes in concentration.

"Okay…I know where she is."

The red head turned and started running, aware that her teammates would follow so there was no need to look back.

"Sakura!"

The five konoha nin had just arrived in the room the inn keeper had provided them with when Naruto couldn't help it anymore. He needed to hug his teammate. Unfortunately, he was held back by his friends.

An annoyed expression appeared on his whiskered face.

"Oi!"

"Shut it Naruto! Do you want us all to die?!" Kiba barked at the blonde and his loyal canine did the same. He gestured to the bombs circulating within the confines of his jacket.

"Oh yeah…almost forgot about those…"

"Tch..these bombs...so troublesome…"

"We better disable them as soon as we can." Neji added, his face a blank sheet as always.

"Hey…where's Sakura-chan?"

All men froze and was about to panic when their medic was no where to be seen, but the sound of running water soothed their worries.

"Maybe Sakura-chan can fix Naruto." Kiba suggested, a smirk on his face.

"At the state she's in? I doubt it." The Nara heir yawned before laying down on one of the beds in the simple room.

"Besides….-insert yawn here-She's a healer, not a bomb expert."

"I don't care, I'm just happy we found her." All eyes turned to the blonde in the group and it wasn't hard to notice the devotion and love in his blue eyes.

They all nodded in response to his statement.

Unbeknownst to the konoha nin inside, there was a figure cloaked in the darkness, who watched them with a grim smile and a vengeful glint in his eyes.

Deidara was astounded.

Here they were, the ninja of Akatsuki, running in the opposite direction of their base, away from their leader and towards her.

As strange as it sounded, he was relieved that she was within their reach. However, every step they took moving away from leader, was a step closer to their death.

The thought was unwanted and unspoken. He knew everyone around him was aware of that fact. But of course, when a particular pink haired medic was involved, all their judgment was clouded and the only thing they could see clearly was her.

The blonde chuckled to himself as he maneuvered his clay bird around towering trees.

How ironic.

The girl that was once Akatsuki's prisoner, was now the one who held all their hearts captive.

AN! Hope you enjoyed that :) I do apologize though for the long wait you all had to suffer for just a short chapter. But I am going to start writing the next one as soon as I post this. Review and tell me what you guys think! ;)

Also...check out my new story :) It's titled " - M e" with Sakura as the main character (of course) hehe

Here's the summary if you guys are interested.

{ Sakura Haruno, the scheme of the century and a popular boy-band. All crammed into one house with not enough rooms and too many males. Add pranks, parties and a little thing called love, what do you get? Complete and utter chaos. }

Till' next time my lovely readers and reviewers!

-VZ