The bed was firm. Too firm for my liking. The side of my shoulder throbbed and when I looked over at it, all I saw was two puncture wounds that had an infection around it. It would be painful to heal. I knew that much. Sighing, I looked around. There was nothing around, just a small table pushed to the side and candelabra up on the wall. The wounds I had received from my fight with Uchiha started to sting. I couldn't move my arms though. They were chained to the headboard of the bed. I had landed myself in a great predicament.

The mission was to be stealthy. To find out information about the Akatsuki. I had failed at that. Instead, I had landed myself in the enemy's arms with a snake bite, contusions, and lacerations. None of which I could heal. My feet were free. That was good. It gave me a chance to brace myself. Doing so, I pulled at my arms and waited for the chains to snap. Using the immaculate strength I had obtained from the secrets of Tsunade-sama, I pulled the chain off along with a bit of the wall.

The small hole in the wall let a small sliver of light poke through. This was a good thing, I could use Amarante to send some messages to Tsunade-sensei. Putting my hands together, I unleashed the summoning jutsu.

From my training with Tsunade-sama, I had learned the summoning jutsu for Katsuyu. The large slug. What had gained me ANBU status was my Amarante summon. Using earth and wind elements, I had created the greatest spy. One no one would notice. A combination of flower petals and a wind spirit. Together, the spirit could receive and send messages. I called her Amarante because Amarante meant 'a flower that never fades'. It was my very own jutsu.

Amarante came up to me, through the hole in the wall, petals flew through and formed into the form of a woman in front of me. I looked at her and smiled. "Thank god you are here, go to Tsunade-sama, and tell her I've been caught." Amarante nodded. "Tell her Naruto is in danger. Tell her not to worry about me but about Naruto. Tell her to not tell Naruto I've been caught. Go. Tell her." Amarante bowed and then flowed away through the hole.

Sighing, I sat down. That was one thing that I let out of the way. Hopefully Naruto would be safe. Tsuande-sama would lie to him and she would increase his security. All I had to do was have faith in them. They would know what they are doing. Since my hands were free, I figured it would be a great idea to heal my body. Deciding I'd get the most painful injury out of the way, I placed my hand on top of the snake bite. Grinding my teeth, I let the green chakra heal it.

Healing myself didn't take too long. It was pretty simple. There was only one thing I could do now and it was try to get out. Since I had already succeeded in putting a hole in the wall, I decided now was time I made the hole large enough for me. I needed to get out. Punching the wall as forcefully as possible, I let a large archway form. Smiling at my handiwork, I took a step outside. Fresh air filled me. It was early morning. I could tell that much. The land was beautiful. I didn't know where I was but I knew I would have to get out soon. Looking around, I made sure no one was around and then I ran across a field. No one was in pursuit of me. I had expected that they had all been asleep. How stupid are they to keep a prisoner unguarded? I thought to myself. Suddenly I stopped running. Uchiha Sasuke was far from stupid. Yeah he had left the only things that had loved him but still, he wasn't stupid. "Sasuke-kun?" I asked around. No one was near. Putting my hands together, I formed a Bunshin and then told it to go back where I was before.

Maybe that would evade them for a while.

My robe was ripped. I needed to get into some new clothing and soon. From far away, I found a couple of kids playing with their dog. Running over to them, I sat down. "Where are your parents?" I asked them. The little boy looked at me scared. "Please go get me you parents." The little boy ran into some woods while two little girls looked at me. "Hi," I smiled. "My name is Sakura."

"I'm Sara. This is my cousin Aiko." The girl who was speaking had short pigtails in her hair. "And this is our dog Kiba." I wanted to laugh.

"Well hello, I have a friend named Kiba."

"That's funny. That's our dog's name."

"Yeah, Kiba loves dogs too. He has one named Akamaru."

"Are you okay?" The other one asked. Two lines down her face were dark red and she had grey hair, oddly resembling a shade I had seen before. But where?

"Yes. I'm okay." And then I faded to black.

When I woke up, I found a woman over me, placing her hands over my stomach. Her palms were ignited in a technique known as mystical palm. She was a healer. A medic ninja. "Where am I?" I asked her. She looked at me and smiled. Her brown hair reached down her shoulders, two lines down her face told me she was a part of some higher clan. As was her daughter Aiko who I had met.

"You are in Fire Country. The Village of Smoke. I'm a medic ninja here and my nephew said he found a girl. So I came and got you. What were you doing all the way over there? Kira said you ran all the way from the Western border. What were you doing there?"

"I was escaping."

"They say there is a dark evil there. I don't let the children there." She pushed up my sleeve to heal one of the wounds I had forgotten to heal. "You're ANBU." I looked down at the marks in my shoulder. The spiral. I nodded my head.

"How did you get caught?"

"A mission gone horribly wrong." I told her as I sat up. She handed me a kimono and I accepted. "My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura."

"Of Haruno Bakery?" The woman asked. I stared at her. She knew who what my parents did for a living? "I used to live in Konoha. I was originally a Konoha ninja. Differences with some of my fellow ninja forced the Hokage to send me here as head supervising medic ninja." I nodded. "My name is Rin." She looked at me and then her daughter. "And this is my daughter Aiko." The little girl walked over.

"I hope your husband doesn't mind me being here." I told Rin.

"My husband doesn't care. He's a ninja in Konoha. He only comes by once in a while. Have you met him? Hatake Kakashi?" My eyes widened. Did she just say Kakashi-sensei? "Looks like you do know him."

"Reads Icha Icha all day, has poofy hair, sharingan in his left eye, is known to be a perverted, lazy, ninja?"

"That's my Kakashi. How do you know him?"
"I was his student. Am his student." She stood up and walked out of the room. Wait, the little girl. What? Kakashi-sensei had a family? Why didn't he tell us? I looked at the girl. She was smiling shyly at me. He had a kid? How did he manage all of that? My thoughts were cut short when Rin walked back in the room.

"Of course. I knew I recognized you." She handed me the famous picture of Naruto, Sasuke, Sensei, and I. "He talks about you guys all the time."



"Why don't I know about any of this?" I asked.

"Because that's the way it should be. He wanted to keep me protected. He's in the enemy bingo book. If I claim myself as his wife to the outside world then I am not only endangering myself but my daughter as well. And my future child." She held her stomach. This meant Kakashi-sensei had a mission recently.

Then it occurred to me. Kakashi-sensei had a tendency of being late and also, he was away on missions highly profiled. And they weren't even counted in the Ranks. I should have known. If only Naruto and I had paid a bit of attention. But then again, he was training with Jiraiya-sama. And she was off training with Tsuande-sama. Kakashi-sensei was gone.

"Well, what a coincidence. You being his student and all." Rin smiled at me and then stood up. "How long will you be staying?"

"Not long. My friends are in danger. I need to go. Thank you for your hospitality. I don't want to be any danger to you." She smiled and nodded.

"I understand. Let me get you something to wear." I thanked her. While the woman left, I looked at the young girl. She was smiling as she played with the front of her shirt. This was sensei's daughter. Looking at the girl, I noticed the innocence around her. I would have to save Naruto. Because if Naruto doesn't live, then no one will be able to live freely. Naruto was the solution. She knew it.

"Here, this used to be mine when I was younger. You could have it." She handed me a yukata.

"Thank you. How far is Konoha from here?" I asked.

"About half a day. If you don't stop at the pace you are going. I'll prepare you some fruit for along the way." She and her daughter left as I slipped into the kimono. I wanted to stay but I needed to get the message to Tsunade-sama. The things I hadn't told Amarante. Once done, I walked outside and took the fruit from the woman. "God speed. Be careful." I nodded my head and then set off to Konoha.

A few hours later, I was nearing the border. It was a few miles away. The surrounding area was familiar to me. The sky was dark, the moon over head gave the only light to me as I passed through trees and plants. I needed to get home. And soon. Thinking I was safe now that I was in Konoha borders, I started to let my guard down. Which was a bad mistake because as I passed onto the dirt path towards the village gates, I found Sasuke, Juugo, Karin, and Suigetsu. They were my unwelcomed welcoming committee. My feet stopped moving and my heart dropped to the lowest levels of my body. They were blocking me from getting home. The road, I realized, was the road one must take to get into Suna. Maybe if I ran there, I would be protected. No, I knew I would be protected. Immediately I ran around hoping I would be protected. Suna was hardly a day's journey. Probably even less. All I needed was to get there as soon as possible.

The only problem was Uchiha Sasuke didn't want me to leave. No. He wouldn't let me go. I was his prisoner.

When I had turned around, there were a dozen snakes just waiting for the command to sink their fangs in. Looking over my shoulder, I glared at Uchiha. Immediately, I connected my fist to the ground and let myself fall in. Clinging to the side, I hid myself on a ledge hoping Sasuke wouldn't notice me. Praying that the explosion was loud enough for Konoha to investigate, I just stood there waiting. Suddenly, something wrapped around my arms. I felt myself being pulled up by Sasuke's blasted snakes. I wanted to kill the person who taught him that trick. Too bad that person was already dead.

"Sakura, don't you ever try to do that again." Sasuke seethed as he looked at me. I was dropped into his arms. Throwing me over to Juugo, he ordered him to carry me and Juugo did, making sure I wouldn't try to get away. The entire time, I watched as Karin latched herself to Sasuke's arm. Trying to get me jealous. And in fact, it was making me jealous inside. Sasuke-kun would let her by his side but not me? I wanted to know why.

"Sasuke-kun, when are we attacking Konoha?" She asked loudly as we sat down. Juugo left me sitting against a tree stump. "I mean come on, that town needs to fall to pieces. It has a shitty Hokage." Strike one. "Shitty ninja, except you of course Sasuke-kun." Strike Two. "And I mean come on, that village is so…stupid." Strike three. You're out. I lunged at her but was stopped by Sasuke. He had his right hand tight around my neck and the other one holding my hands so I couldn't punch him.

"Don't lay a finger on her." I looked at him shocked. My head reeled back into memories and I remembered the time Sasuke had protected me from the Sound ninja when I was trying to protect him and Naruto. How he had stood in front of me asking who had 'done this' to me. Tears flooded my eyes. He let my hands go but still kept a firm grip on my throat. I couldn't breathe. I remembered how he had protected me from Gaara back during the chunnin exams. Then I remembered Naruto's state at the battle of the Valley of the End. My hands clawed at his face and tried to gouge his eyes out. I felt pressure on both my arms and felt them crack. Karin helped Sasuke by dislocating my arms.

The pain was unbelievable. I had never felt so much pain in my life. Emotionally yes but never physically. It wasn't me who broke the arms and the legs. It was Naruto.

I was the nurse. The doctor. The caretaker.

"Karin!" Sasuke yelled. "Get away from her. Suigetsu, get her the fuck away from my face."

"But Sasuke-kun."

"Juugo, there's a village up ahead, get some bandages."

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin started.

"Go get some water." He stated to the other two. We were left to ourselves. When he looked back, he noticed the grip around my throat was still there. Slowly he removed himself and then waited as I slumped to the ground. "I'll pop them back but it'll hurt."

"I know." I seethed.

"Yeah, forgot. Medic nin."

"Yeah." I muttered and braced myself for the pain. Immediately, I felt the first shoulder pop back into pain. Arching my back I screamed. Tears of hate running down my face. The second one was more painful. When he did it, it felt like he didn't care. "Thank you." I still muttered as I lay my arms to my sides. Slowly, my hands glowed green and the left one slowly to my right. Healing it, I went to the other and finished with that. Just a bit of bruising was left. Nothing more nothing less.

"Sakura-chan." Juugo had come back with the bandages and I accepted them with a smile. Wrapping them around my arms to keep the swelling down, I looked over at Suigetsu and Karin who had come back. If I wasn't weak from the pain and if Sasuke didn't have his hand on my arm then I would have pounded her to death. "Are you feeling better?" Juugo asked. I couldn't believe this man would be part of an evil group. He seemed perfectly harmless.

"Yes, thank you." I replied.

"Sasuke-sama." Juugo turned over to Sasuke. "The village has a small pub. We should stay there all day tomorrow to avoid suspicion."



"You're right. We keep her hidden." Sasuke's head pointed at me. "The crater she made is probably a signature of some sort. We need her locked up and watched over at all times."

"I'll do it." Karin suggested smiling deviously at me.

"No, I will. I'll keep her with me." Sasuke stated. "Juugo, get the rooms. Three of them. If you can, two beds in each." Juugo nodded. Sasuke reached into his pockets and pulled out some money. "This should be enough. Come get us when you have the rooms. Suigetsu, go with him." Suigetsu nodded.

"Sasuke-kun, I am so sorry for doing that." Karin started.

"Don't apologize to me, if you want to apologize, do it to Sakura." I looked at Sasuke and then Karin. They were playing games. Karin looked at me and then walked away.

"Sasuke, you don't have to do that. I know you don't care about me." Sasuke looked at me and then sighed.
"Sakura, you don't know anything. You are still the stupid girl I knew. Nothing has changed about you. Except perhaps your jutsu level." He stated looking me square in the eyes.

"Except the fact that I love you."

"You were a fool to think you were in love with me. You were what? 12? You didn't know what love is."

"As opposed to you knowing what love is? What revenge is? What family is?" I snapped back. "You don't know me Uchiha. So stop pretending like you do. If you did know me, you would have let me go."

"And why is that?"

"How do you know that I don't have mechanisms to get information across from thousands of miles away? How do you know if or not someone is following me around to see where you are? What if I'm bait?"

"You aren't. I know you aren't."

"How can you be sure?"

He looked at me. "I know so Sakura. And trust me, if the Hokage figured out what was up, then she would have let me do my own thing. So it doesn't matter whether or not she knows."

"Then why can't I go?"

"Bait for Naruto."

"How do you know Naruto won't come?"

"Then you will be in a lot of trouble won't you. Sa…ku…ra?"

"He's not coming." I told Sasuke. "Do whatever you want because I have already told Tsunade-sama the truth."

"I know you have."

"What?" I asked him.

"Sweetheart, the only reason you were sent on this mission is because I had Tsunade-sama place you on it."

"What?"

"Sssshhh." I looked over at Juugo who had shown up with some keys. "Set?"

"Yes."

"Let's go."

What Sasuke-kun was talking about, I didn't know. All I knew was that either Tsunade-sama had betrayed Konoha or Sasuke was friend. I couldn't talk because the group was there. I didn't know whether or not they knew. Sasuke has been talking to Tsunade-sama? I kept on asking myself. So was it Sasuke who had been warning Tsunade-sama about the Akatsuki?

"Sakura." I heard Sasuke whisper behind me. It was then that I noticed I was in my room. Our room. "Don't tell anyone what I have told you or I will kill you. I am just doing what Itachi would have wanted. Sasuke turned around and sat down in his bed. I crept into mine. What was going on? "No, come here, I need to tell you."

"What?"

"Come here." I walked over to him. "I can't explain to you everything but I need you to play along with me. Act like you don't want to be around me. Fight. Just don't do anything stupid. Naruto needs to be protected. He is hiding somewhere the Akatsuki won't dare to look."

"And where is that."

"The Uchiha Grounds."

"Sasuke, what is going on?" I whispered.

"I can't tell you this now. I have just realized some things that I have to sort out. Just make sure you don't screw anything up. I just have to make it seem like I am using you for bait. Understand?" He was rough the way he said it. I was just a toy to him. Collateral basically for convincing the Akatsuki that the group was loyal.

"Fine." I moved over to my bed but Sasuke's hand stopped me.

"Tell anyone, then I will kill you. Like I said Sakura, some sacrifice must happen in order for there to be peace in the world."

"Who told you that?"

"Itachi."

This boy was confusing me.