I am really sorry I haven't updated for so long. I've been too busy. But I'll try to update one more time this week.
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Sakura must have fallen asleep at some point as she thought about what she had gotten herself into.
Groggily, she realized someone was knocking on her door. Her mind finally catching up, she remembered all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
When she opened the door, Itachi stepped into the room, carrying Sakura's prize katana. "My katana!" she exclaimed. In all the excitement, she had completely forgotten about her katana.
Wordlessly, Itachi handed the katana back to Sakura. A loud bell began to chime through the complex, startling Sakura. "It is time for dinner," he said. Before Sakura followed Itachi out into the hall, she placed her katana on her pillow, intending to move it to a better hiding spot when she returned.
Once again, members stared and pointed as Sakura and Itachi passed them on the way to the dining hall. Inside the hall, it finally struck Sakura just how large the whole organization was. Twenty thirty-feet long tables filled the room, and one table with ten seats headed the other tables. Every seat was taken at the large tables, but only five seats were taken at the head table.
Sakura stood behind the table, unsure of what she should do. Then Itachi pointed to the empty seat next to him as an indication of where she should sit. As soon as she sat, people came streaming from the kitchens, bearing platters of food for the hungry Akatsuki members. Sakura gratefully devoured the hot meal, having only eaten dry jerky the night before.
When everyone had finished eating, Leader stood up and all talk immediately ceased. "I'm sure all of you have been aware of our healer crisis." His voice reached throughout the hall effortlessly. Every head nodded emphatically. Sakura noted that over half the people in the hall wore bandages of some sort and some of the bandages had crimson stains on them where a wound had reopened. "But I have found a solution to this problem. The fifth Hokage's student herself has decided to help us."
Whispers shot through the room at his announcement. Sakura bent her head, her rose-petal hair covering her face. "Starting tomorrow, Sakura Haruno will see to any and all medical matters."
Back in Konoha
Tsunade drummed her fingers impatiently on her desk as she waited for the shinobi she had summoned to actually arrive.
This morning Tsunade had gone to the hospital to look for Sakura, only to be told that Sakura had not reported in that morning. Filled with worry, the Hokage had hurried to her student's house. The door was locked, but a wooden door was no match for Tsunade's super strength. A quick search through the house produced a note explaining Sakura's missing presence.
If you are reading this, it means that I have left Konoha, never to return Please don't search for me, it isn't worth it. There are many more talented shinobi than I. Besides, my life here in Konoha is pointless. Maybe now I will be able to find happiness. Please tell Tsunade I am sorry.
Good-bye forever,
Sakura
Tsunade's eyes filled with tears. Right then she wanted to punch some thing, hard. How could she have been so blind to not see this coming? Sakura was her student, Tsunade was supposed to care for her!
When Tsunade had returned to her office, Sakura's note clutched in her hand, she had sent the summons for Gai's team, Kurenai's team, Asuma's team, and, of course, Kakashi's team.
The door was suddenly flung open and Naruto bounded into the room. "Do we get another mission today? Is it dangerous? Is it exciting?"
"Naruto, SHUT UP!" Tsunade yelled. Naruto shut up. He could see pain in her eyes and her white knuckles as she gripped something in her right hand tightly.
Sasuke and Kakashi came in much more quietly.
Twenty minutes later, all of the people Tsunade had called were assembled in the office. "This is a rescue mission," Tsunade said. "But it's not one you would be used to. Sakura Haruno has run away from Konoha. Your mission is to bring her back, alive."
"What!" Naruto screeched, making Shikamaru and Sasuke, who were standing next to him, wince. "Why would she leave? She was happy here!"
"Apparently not, Naruto," the Hokage said.
"What proof do you have that she left?" Sasuke asked. Instead of answering, Tsunade gave him the note Sakura had left. He read over it, thinking back to that day in the market when he had seen that shadow cross over Sakura's face. So she really was sad, he thought. He gave the note back to Tsunade.
"I don't care how long this mission takes, just bring Sakura back," Tsunade said. "Dismissed!"
At the Akatsuki Hideout
Sakura made her way through the maze-like complex back to her room with ease. She had already memorized the route from her room to the dining hall after following Itachi that once. She unlocked her bedroom door and walked inside, only to stop short at the wreckage that had been her room, eyes widening in horror.
On the walls some one had painted the words "Go home, weakling spy!" in jagged black paint. Feathers and fluff covered the floor from when some one had ripped apart her pillows and mattress. But the one thing that Sakura noticed the quickest was her missing katana.
Sakura could feel the fury building in her body. Anger rolled off of her in waves. The other core members, feeling the fury coming from her room came to see what had upset the new member so much. They all stopped short when they saw the state her room was in.
But Sakura's logical thinking began to surface through her violent emotions. She had bonded the blade to herself so that no one else could use it against her and she could find it if she ever lost it. Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated on finding the unique chakra pattern that was her katana. When she locked onto the pattern, she opened her eyes and grinned. Tobi shivered at the predatorial look of her grin and the ruthlessness in her eyes. "I can find the ones who did this," she said calmly.
She walked down countless halls, all the core members, except for Leader who was busy meeting with some one, following her. She stopped in front of a door that was in the chuunin level section of the complex.
Without caring about what the occupants inside might do, Sakura smashed the door down. Three girls scrambled to their feet as Sakura walked in. "Why did you steal my katana and wreck my room?" Sakura asked, her voice deathly quiet.
"You didn't deserve to be up there," one of the girls said boldly. "All of us work hard to move up even a little, but you just come prancing in and take a place in the core members' rooms when you were responsible for another core member's death."
Sakura listened through the girl's entire rant, her jade eyes like stone. "Would you like me to prove that I'm stronger than you air heads?" Sakura asked when the girl finished.
The girl snorted. "I won't lower myself so much as to actually fight with you."
"Too bad," Sakura whispered as she stood behind the girl. The girl instantly went pale and her eyes widened. She hadn't even seen Sakura move. Sakura punched all three of the girls into the wall, leaving craters where all of them had impacted. "Give me my katana, and this is the worst I will do," Sakura commanded.
Another girl who hadn't talked at all pointed to a desk that sat in a corner of the room. "It's in the top shelf," she whispered, wincing as she said it because Sakura had broken some of her ribs in the punch.
Sakura noticed this as well, and after she retrieved her katana, she said, "If you promise not to do any of this again I'll heal all of you." All the girls nodded. Sakura quickly healed all the broken and bruised ribs, and then returned to her room.
Before Sakura entered her room, Itachi came up behind her. "Tomorrow I will show you around the complex. Then you will begin your duties as the medic for Akatsuki." Sakura nodded then entered her room. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the new pillow.
With the Rescue Group
After two days of searching, they had still only found a trace of Sakura's chakra, and that was at the very beginning, only six hours out from Konoha. What had worried Sasuke most was the other chakra in the area as well. He hadn't told anyone, but he had also felt some of Itachi's chakra in the area as well.
Sasuke had second watch, so it was dark with only the stars and moon for company. He also had a lot of time to think about Sakura, which surprised him. The kunoichi had not crossed his thoughts for a while. She had seemed happy when he returned, but as he thought, he saw all the moments when Sakura's mask had failed and her inner sadness had shown through. Sasuke kicked himself for not recognizing it and for probably making it worse with his cold way of acting towards her. It was, he realized, the first time he had ever regretted being like he was towards another person. And he finally realized just how much he missed Sakura.
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Sasuke was a little OOC right there, but he had to be for the moment to seem right. Now give me incentive to write my next chapter and REVIEW!!