"Hinata, are you sure it doesn't end soon? I don't want to send Sakura in there so she can get lost." I watched Kakashi-sensei and Hinata-san intently, wondering what they were talking about.

"P-positive!"

"Sakura, Hinata is going to show the beginning of this trail and you are to follow it all the through. From what she can see the trail goes in the direction of home. If you run into anything," he paused and handed me a small kunai, "focus your chakra into this and we'll be there right away. Same thing if you find anything or start to doubt that you're heading in the right direction. Okay?"

I nodded even though I was thoroughly confused. Why did I have to go? Why did I have to go alone? "Wouldn't it be better if someone else went with me?"

"Well, yes. But we can't really make the team any smaller and you, uh, seemed to need some time alone."

"Okay." I nodded again, still unsure if this was a good idea. It would be nice to get away from the rest of the group for a while but what if I got into real trouble? It could take them forever to get to me.

I quickly gathered my things, double checking that I had everything I might need. I sighed, pulling the now heavy pack onto my back. I would have to get rid of some things as I went. Naruto gently squeezed my arm and gave me a warm smile. I smiled up at him, showing him that I was perfectly fine.

"Ready, Hinata-san?" I stood beside the girl, tapping my foot in apprehension.

"Y-yes!" She started to head into the trees and I followed close behind. We soon came upon a small dirt path.

"J-just keep f-following th-this path." With that she turned and started to head back the way she'd come.

It felt odd, being in the forest alone. Well, I didn't feel terribly alone. I could still hear the rest of the groups' muffled voices and it felt as if someone was with me. I slowly turned in a circle, taking in my surroundings. They weren't much different, maybe a little darker.

I shook my head and started to run, looking back every few seconds. Slowly, the voices began to fade and I became nervous. I wouldn't be able to hear them if one of them screamed soon. I slowed down as the trail started to turn to the right. When it evened out I had a choice of going left, straight, or right. I immediately began to panic. Neither Hinata-san nor Kakashi-sensei had told me which way to go.

I stopped and tried to clear my head, deciding it would be best to go straight, completely forgetting that tiny kunai. I started forward but stopped. I had the strangest feeling that I should go left. I sighed and turned out to the path that would surely take me away from Konoha.

--------------------------

At first, I thought the voices might belong to Naruto-kun and Kakashi-sensei but after I listened for a while it became clear that it wasn't them. Both seemed strangely familiar though. I couldn't make out what the two were saying but it was clear that one was trying to get the other to do something that they didn't want to.

I was slowly walking around another bend in the path, trying my hardest not to panic. I had no idea where I was, I was positive that I wasn't heading in the right direction, and night was beginning to fall. The crickets were starting to chirp, making me even more nervous. Yet something kept pulling me along the path that I was currently walking.

The voices went silent. I heard someone start to cough violently and someone else take off. I turned the corner, ready to help the person who was coughing and got something entirely different than what I had expected.

My eyes widened in shock and started to fill with tears when he stepped into the light. He still had the same hair, the same eyes. He hadn't gotten any taller. He still had held himself the same way. As if he knew exactly what he was doing when he was really afraid of doing anything at all. He still had that cool exterior that he could keep in just about any situation. He still fought back the pain and tears when he was terribly injured. He still had that cold, seductive voice that I loved and realized that I'd missed so much when he stuttered my name.

"Sa… S-sa… Sakura…"

He was still my beloved Uchiha Sasuke.