Chapter 1 Kidnapped

"It's been almost three months when I last saw them". Sakura thought and walked stairs up to her shishou's office. Tsunade had called her to come but she had no idea why.

"Maybe she has some kind a mission for me to do". She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't see three mans who were standing in front of Tsunade's door. She impactone of them and felt on floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't se you." She said and stands up on the floor.

"Hn."

"Wait a minute, I know that voice!"Sakura thought and looked the man who she had impact. The man was Sasuke and with his were Naruto and Kakashi. All of them looked at Sakura and she looked back.

"Hey Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Tsunade-sama has something to tell me." She said. "What's bringing you here?" She asked.

"She has something to tell us too." Kakashi answered.

Sakura notes that Sasuke looked at her whit strange face. He looked angry for some reason.

"What's wrong with him? And why shishou called them too? I'm so adjust to make solo mission that I didn't want to take them with me. "

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted when Tsunade's door opened.

"Well, let's go inside." She heard Kakashi's voice say.

Sasuke stepped inside first, then Naruto, Kakashi and at last Sakura. She looked her `team mate's` backs and felt herself weaker than ever. "They are so much powerful than I am. How can I ever be able to call them my team mates ever again? I'm always left behind…"

"I'm happy that all of you came. I have important mission to all four of you." Tsunade said and Sakura saw how Sasuke's face turned red with anger. Naruto looked confused and Kakashi stared at first Tsunade and then Sakura.

Sasuke was first who spoke; "WE can't take HER with us. She's too WEAK and would be only a burden to us."

"Um, Teme is right Tsunade-baa-chan. Sakura-chan isn't as powerful as we are." Naruto said and looked a little sorry for Sakura.

Kakashi just stand and looked in turn at Sakura and Tsunade. Sakura almost started to cry when she heard what Sasuke and Naruto said.

Tsunade looked very angry and started to yell to Sasuke and Naruto.

"Who the hells you two think you are? Sakura is MY apprentice and she's not WEAK! I'm the Hogage and I give the orders and you follow them! I'm I clear?" Sakura hasn't ever seen her shishou so angry. Her pale brown eyes were on fire and her voice was full of anger. Sasuke and Naruto stared at Tsunade and then mumbling quiet "Yes."

"Good and besides she will travel with you only two days and then her own mission will start." Tsunade told and looked at Sakura. "Code three and Shizune give you the directions. Meet them on the gates tomorrow morning at 7 am. You're dismissed and good luck with the mission." She smiled to Sakura and turned her vision to the rest members of team 7.

"See you after two months shishou." Sakura said quickly and left the room. She knows exactly what kind of mission her shishou had given to her. She had to go to Sand village and help them in hospital one and half month. Gaara had asked her to help them work towards their medicinal skills because she had saved his brother's life nearly six years ago and she was Konoha's second best medical ninja. Sakura started to walks towards Shizune's room with a small smile on her lips. She wanted to see Gaara, Temari and Kankuro again. And what the best, they didn't think that she was too weak to help them. Because she left so quickly she didn't saw Sasuke's, Naruto's and Kakashi's faces. All of them looked shocked and stared at her back.

Next morning Sakura was first who arrived to the gates. She was put on her red top with a Haruno symbol in back site, black mini shorts and black boots. Her short hair was messy but she didn't care of it. After the first Chuunin exams she had kept her pink hair short and now it was only a little longer than Naruto's orange mop.

After ten minutes she felt familiar chakra coming closer, it was Sasuke's. He had worn his Anbu uniform but his wolf mask wasn't on his face. His chicken-butt like hair was messy too and he looked a little tired.

"Didn't he sleep well last night?" Sakura thought and wanted to say `Good morning` but then she decided to shut up.

"He doesn't like if I talk to him so it's better not to say anything." She derived and looked at her clock, it was almost 7 but Naruto and Kakashi weren't there. "Shit, they are late."

Sasuke looked at Sakura and waited some kind of greeting but it never came. Sakura looked like she was ignored him. How that was possible? He was the Uchiha Sasuke and she had always told him how much she cared and loved him. When they were genins she had always be near at him. He had hated it but still it felt strange when she wasn't like that anymore. Now she acts like adult, not like a lovesick girl. He has to admit that she was beautiful young adult who was also very powerful.

But still he was sure that she was weaker than he, Naruto or Kakashi. She had to be because she was a woman and women were weak. Well, Tsunade was also a woman and she was their Hogage but still…Sakura has been weak and she would always be Sasuke was sure about that.

What Tsunade has meant when she had said "code three" and after two months?

What kind of mission she had given to Sakura? Sasuke was about to ask but Naruto's loud voice interrupt him.

"Sakura-chan! Teme! "

Sakura raised her head and looked at Naruto. It was strange that he still called her 'Sakura-chan' but tried to avoid her as much as possible. She smiled relief when she saw Kakashi too. Maybe they can finally start their missions.


They traveled the whole day without any breaks and Sakura was glad of it. She didn't want to talk with any of them right now. When they finally stopped the sunset was over. Kakashi looked at his ex-pupils. Sasuke and Naruto were sweated lightly and they also looked a little tired. Kakashi was proud the two of them and nodded happily. Both of them were Konoha's best elite Anbus and the most powerful shinobi in the village.

Then Kakashi looked at his only female pupil – Sakura. She also was sweating lightly but otherwise she looked to be fine. She didn't look tired or exhausted like her two team mates. She looked at Kakashi with bored face.

"If we are really going to stop already and I don't have a tent with me so I will sleep in a tree." She said and then jumped in the tree and stared to shine her kunais. Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto stared at her like she was crazy.

"What do you meant that you didn't have a tent with you? Are you really going to sleep there Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked worried.

"Yeah."

"But why? You can share one with me, Sasuke-teme or Kakashi-sensei."

"This is how I always sleep when I have missions." Sakura said and didn't even look at Naruto when she spoke to him.

"Missions?"Sasuke asked.

"Mmm." Sakura mumbled and glanced at him. "I have done a lot of missions since I become Jounin."

"Hn, I wonder how you are still alive. You're so weak."

"I could ask the same from you."

The silence after Sakura's sentence was so hard that even a child could have cut it with a broken kunai.

"What the fuck did you said?" Sasuke shouted to Sakura and take one of his kunais to his hand. All of the Konoha knew that Sasuke's pride didn't stand any insults.

"How dare you call me weak?" He looked at Sakura but she wasn't in the tree anymore. Sasuke felt a sharp pain on his throat and how a cold kunai cut his skin. Sakura held the kunai in his throat and stood behind him.

Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi haven't seen her moves and they could only stare at her. Sakura looked angry and hissed to Sasuke,

"Keep your mouth shut if you want to keep it, Sasuke-kun."

Then she took her kunai off Sasuke's throat and went back to the tree.

She scowled all of them and said;

"And now, if you don't mind, I would want go to sleep. Good night." Sakura closed her eyes but her body didn't relaxed. If somebody dares to attack her, she would be ready to kick their asses, hard.

The rest of her team left her alone and started to fall asleep too. They put their tent up and Naruto was the first who has watch. Kakashi and Sasuke went their tent but no one of them could sleep. All of them thought of Sakura and her earlier behavior. She had threatened Sasuke and moved inhuman speed. Maybe their weak Sakura wasn't so weak after all.

"Sakura-chan moved so fast. I couldn't even see her. When we were in Baa-chan's office she looked so innocent andwell weak. I didn't believe that she could act like she did. I thought that she still loved Teme but maybe I was wrong."

"Shit, how she dare threatened me like that and how she was so quick? I didn't see her when se moved so fast and put her kunai on my throat. Hell that really hurt! That kunai was so sharp and her voiceshe sounded so angry and furious when she called me Sasuke-kun."

"Sakura has really grown more powerful than I expect. I never thought that she could attack Sasuke and really hurt him. Her eyes looked be in fire when she spoke to him. And the way she said "Sasuke-kun", she sounded like she wanted to kill him right there and then. Maybe she is a little powerful than we expect but because we all were tired of our today's journey she was able to surprise Sasuke like that. That's how it's has to be. She can't be stronger than we are. She's only a woman after all."

Sakura listened eyes closed her team mates' moves and opened her right eye a little so she could see them. Sasuke and Kakashi were already on their tents but Naruto was sitting in the ground next to the tree where she was `sleeping`. She looked at Naruto and notes that he looked sad for some reason. His orange hair was short and he had his Anbu uniform on. His katana was next to him with his fox mask. Sometimes he still acted like twelve years old hyperactive boy but mostly he was like Anbu – cold, considerate and alert. He smiled when he was with Hinata or Sasuke and Kakashi but not with Sakura anymore. He always looked sad and worried when he saw her. He still calls her `Sakura-chan` but it didn't sound right anymore. Sakura wasn't sure when they had started to alienate each another, maybe it was eight years ago – when Sasuke had left or maybe it was two years ago – when Sasuke had come back and change their lives. She wasn't sure but she felt sorry for it had been happened. She really missed Naruto. Finally she closed her eyes and started to sleep.


Six hours later Sakura awaked with a strange voice. She opened her eyes and saw that Naruto didn't sit in watch anymore. There was Sasuke but he seemed to be in sleep. Then Sakura felt tree strong chakra signatures near their camp.

When she recognized them she felt how the panic almost takes control of her body. Quickly she jumped down on the tree and slapped Sasuke on his face. He awaked immediately and looked at her.

"Three Akatsuki's members are coming toward us. We have maybe two minutes before they are here." Sasuke stared at her but then he felt them too. Tree very strong chakras were coming quickly.

"Get ready for battle." He ordered and went to Kakashi's tent. Sakura opened Naruto's tent and awaked him.

"Get up you lazy ass! The Akatsuki is here." She shouted and slapped his face hard.

"Uch, what you're doing Sakura-chan?"

"Akatsuki is here! Be ready for battle." Sakura felt that they were close. She looked at amazed Naruto and decided she should say what she wanted now; it would be too late later.

"Naruto, I'm sorry but I think you shouldn't call me `Sakura-chan` any longer because we're not so closed friends anymore." She said sadly and hugged him quickly.

"I hope you will survive Uzumaki-san." Then she was gone and Naruto didn't know what to think.

Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke were outside when the tree Akatsuki came. They were Sasuke's big brother Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki and Deidara. Sakura stared at them but she wasn't afraid of them.

All of them were so much powerful than she, Sasuke, Naruto or Kakashi that she won't be able to survive this battle alive and she knew it. She wasn't afraid of death that would happen someday, anyway, but to be killed by s-class criminal didn't sound very tempting either.

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted. Kakashi looked serious and Naruto a little bit scary. In his past Uchiha Itachi had tried to kill him so it wasn't surprise he scared him. Sakura had seen him only once before but read all of the information of him in Tsunade's secrets maps. She knew that he had become Anbu at the very young age; he has the Mangengyu sharingan and was one of the most powerful shinobis in the world.

She also knew some things about Kisame and Deidara but the most important was that they all were too powerful to them to handle.

"Hello my foolish little brother." Itachi said and looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke close your eyes!" Sakura shouted. She had seen how Itachi's eyes were changed their color to red sharingan to black-red Mangengyu sharingan. She didn't want Sasuke to fall into genjutsu because then he would be too easy to kill.

Sasuke heard that Sakura shouted something to him but he didn't care. His brother, who he had wanted to kill almost twelve years, was standing right in front of him. He felt how the blood in his veins started to boiled and his sharingan actives by itself. He just wanted to take his kunai and cut Itachi's throat open. He was taking his kunai but then he noticed Itachi's eyes and the Mangengyu sharingan.

Sasuke was closing his eyes when he felt that somebody pushed his chest and he reeled to backward. At the same moment he saw something pink in front of him and understand that Sakura had pushed him just a moment ago. He looked how Sakura jumped between him and Itachi. Itachi looked a little surprised when Sakura appeared and his Mangengyu sharingan recover to normal sharingan.

Sakura couldn't think anything else but to save Sasuke. So she pushed him and jumped in front of him. She saw how Itachi's eyes become "normal" sharingan again but didn't look at them. She was angry to Sasuke and wanted to shout him how stupid he was but instead of that she take her kunai to her hand and looked at Kisame.

"What you are doing in here?" She asked.

Kisame smirked at her lazily, "Any good guess, kunoichi?"

"We don't want to fight with you, please leave." Sakura's voice was ice cold and if the look could kill all of the Akatsuki members would be lying dead in the ground. "Hah, you're funny little kunoichi, yeah." Deidara laughed.

"Sorry pink but we are here for the Kyuubi. He's coming with us." Kisame said.

"Hn. Take him" Itachi ordered.

"Protect Naruto!" Sakura screamed and throw her kunai towards Itachi, who avoid it easily.

Kisame attacked towards Kakashi with his sword Samehada and Deidara's birds flow towards Sasuke. Sakura kept throwing her kunais and shirukens but Itachi avoided all of them. Frustrated to this Sakura focused chakra on her right hand and tried to hit Itachi. Instead of Itachi she hit the tree which broke into million little pieces. Itachi kept his poker face but was surprised kunoichi's ability to destroy the poor tree. Sakura's face was red with anger and she was trying to hit Itachi again, when she heard a painful scream. She turned her head and saw how Kisame's sword made a huge wound on Kakashi's stomach.

"Kakashi!"

Sakura started to ran towards him but Itachi appear in front of her.

"Move bastard!" Sakura shouted to him and saw how he smirked to her.

"I'm rather sure that my parents were married." Itachi said making Sakura look at him surprised. She wanted to heal Kakashi as soon as possible so in panic she took one of her kunais and focused her chakra in it and – with lucky or not- she cut Itachi's left hand so hard that she broke the bone. Itachi's eyes flashed in pain and Sakura managed to pass him. She didn't understand what she has done because she was too worried about Kakashi. She took another kunai in her hands and attacked towards Kisame. She jumped, focused her chakra in her foot and kicked him back. The kick was so hard that Kisame fall down in ground and Sakura had opportunity to heal her former sensei.

"This may hurt a little." She told and started to heal him. The wound was deep but Sakura wasn't called 'a medicine expert' for nothing, she healed the wound quickly and was about to go back to the battle, when she felt his hand on her hand. The look in his normal dark eyes was at the same time thankfully and apologies. She heard him saying 'thank you' but very quietly- like he didn't want to say it. She hasn't time to reply him because Kisame had got up the ground and he looked very pissed.

"That wasn't very nice, kunoichi." He said with evil tone and was going to attack them when Itachi's cold voice interrupted him.

"Stop it Kisame. We're leaving." Then he vanished and appeared behind Sakura.

"And we're taking you with us." With his right hand he hit Sakura's neck and she fell unconscious in the ground. Before Kakashi had time to do anything Itachi picked Sakura up and throw her to Kisame.

"You will carry her."

Kisame sighed and put Sakura on his shoulders.

Deidara was fighting with Naruto and Sasuke when he heard Kisame's calling him.

"C'mon Deidara, we're leaving!" Deidara didn't understand why. The Kyuubi wasn't with them yet, but then he saw limp Sakura on Kisame's shoulders .It seems that the plan was changed. Deidara didn't know why they were taking the pink haired kunoichi with them instead of Kyuubi-boy but it wasn't his problem. It was Itachi who didn't follow Leader-sama's orders so he would be punished for disobedience, not Deidara.

"Yeah!" He shouted and with six big jumps he was beside of Kisame.

"Let's go." Itachi ordered and all of them made couple of hands marks and then they disappeared in a puff of red smoke.

"No! Sakura-chan!!" Naruto screamed and felt how hot tears stared to fall down on his cheeks. Sasuke looked more pale than usual and his hands shake a little. Kakashi's right eye was dark of lost and his hands founds their way on his stomach, which Sakura has healed only couple of minutes ago. And now she was kidnapped by Akatsuki.


Disclaimer I do not own Naruto