Sakura ran from the pain, ran from the anguish and the blindness the consumed her. Her eyes swollen with tears, she was certain she'd run into something if she didn't clear her vision. She had run so long her knees began to ache, the gooey violet remains of the snake had begun to crust over and flake from her ivory skin while her usually fine blushed hair had become matted and gritty. Her pace began to dissipate to a slow trot and then to a steady walk as she began an attempt to asses her surroundings.

How long have I been gone…? She pondered, turning her head upward to gaze at the sun that had begun to sink below the trees, streaking the sky with vibrant purples, oranges and reds. I don't recognize these woods… she thought rather flatly, huffing strands of her wild hair from her face as she pressed on, looking for some kind of landmark that might help her determined just where she had landed herself. As she pushed through branches and trunks of towering trees she was close to giving up hope at finding any kind of land reference from the ground as night began to consume the forest, the moon flooding the land with its silver rays as it filled the sky with its warming presence while stars began to peek out to join the masquerade of night.

She sifted through trees and starlight before finally coming to a small clearing where the moons rays seemed focused and content. Spackles of yellow light glittered from the nearby trees before vanishing and reappearing again.

Firefly's… Sakura thought to her-self as a smile swept her face. Her head had finally stopped screaming but the images charred her brain, even if none of them made sense to her. The images had come to her like a poorly drawn picture book, fuzzy, inconsistent, and rapid and filled with hiccups. She held a still crusted hand to her smudged forehead as her mind began to burn again as she recalled the events that had unfolded prior to her blinding run-away act. I'm such an idiot… she scorned herself for acting so carelessly in her act of desperation to rid herself of the pain within. Naruto and Sasuke must of have thought I ingested something toxic…or had a bad run in with Lady Tsuande's Sake… Her mind trailed as she released a shallow chuckle at the scenarios she was imagining inside her calm mind. She sighed a breath of fresh air before she leaned her head back to bask in the glow of the night, a smile gleaming across her face as she felt relived from the pain she had just endured, though her mind free of the pain, it was not free of the wonder it had always possessed. What had the snake done to her? Did it charm her? Curse her? She had to know, if for no other reason than to learn how to defend her-self against it the next time around.

In her inquisitive state of mind, she barely noticed she was far from alone in that quaint little clearing but little to her knowledge she stood their being watched ever so carefully with miles between her and the unwavering pair of eyes.



The image of Sakura swirled deep in the smooth crystal that rested peacefully on a circular table, its owner's eyes unmoved by anything else that stirred around him. The girl had not only surprised, but perplexed him and she was the last one he had ever expected to posses such power. But for ruining one of his pets, he'd make that pretty face pay but not before he extracted what he truly burned for from her. His legs crossed and his fingers placed delicately between his lips and chin, he watched her from behind glass, miles away from her eyes.

"Itachi.." The slimy yet smooth voiced rang out to one of his nearby slaves that stood obediently behind him.

"Hai…" The somber voice responded as he emerged from the shadows, his sharingan eyes and metal headband glinting off the dim light that illuminated from the crystal.

"Bring her to me." He ordered, little emotion lingering in his voice.

"And what of Sasuke?" Itachi questioned as he stared at the pink haired nin through the looking glass, catching a sinister smile stretch wide across his masters pale face.

"We'll give him an offer he can't refuse…" The voice hissed as his master moved from his sitting position to stand and linger in the eyes of his obedient servant. "Do it." He ordered more forcefully before leaving the room, no doubt to perfect his devious plan. He left Itachi to watch the glass that still swirled with the image of the young girl, his blood red eyes swirling with distain as he saw the one person who made his skin crawl enter the seemingly perfect little world that spun below him.

Sasuke… He rumbled through his throat, his eyes glowing as he focused his chakra onto the tiny, easily crushable world of the looking glass causing his masters mirror to splinter and crack with his disdain for his own flesh and blood.

-O-o-O-o-O-

Sakura looked up from her meditative state to see the lingering Sasuke slowly approach her. At the sight of her comrade her eyes lit up with enthusiasm and she prepped herself to rush him with a hug, but stopped herself from smothering the emotionally detached nin.

"Hey Sasuke!" She beamed, slowly walking toward him, catching a glint of a smile curl up into the fine corners of his mouth. She blushed almost instantly and thanked the stars for their poor lighting to mask her flushed face. "About earlier…" she began to explain, only to be cut short.

"That was something…" Sasuke proclaimed his smooth voice calm and collected as he looked away from her startled expression that transformed into child like excitement.

"You really think so?" She asked shyly, her face growing hotter with his compliment.

Sasuke, in an attempt to redeem himself to his natural ways huffed lightly "Don't go getting a big head, Sakura…I said it was something, not amazing." He saw her beautiful smile fade from her face, as if it almost melted off into the somber frown that now creased the corners of blushed lips. Even if it really was… He added in the back of his mind, feeling a twinge of guilt for being the cause of such a miserable expression on her face.

"Right." Sakura retorted sharply, as if the harsh comment had not fazed her.

In a desperate attempt to save the conversation Sasuke blurted out "Why did you run off afterwards anyway…it's been a pain in my ass coming out here to find you." He raised his dark eyes to greet the flickering green flames of Sakura's orbs as she fumed only a few feet away from him.

"I never asked you to come after me, Sasuke." She barked as she pushed her way past him "and what happened earlier doesn't concern you…I'll speak to Lady Tsuande when we return." With her final sentence she turned a cold shoulder to the Uchiha who smirked at her sharp reply.

She really has changed…he thought quietly to himself as he took in this newly developed Sakura while walking behind her as he desperately tried to avert his eyes from ogling her well padded lower backside.

-O-o-O-o-O-

AN: I like this chapter…lol. I'm sorry if Sakura seems a little OCC…but I still think she's pretty well within character. I'm kind of sad this story isn't doing as well as I thought..but I love it…I hope other do as well…