Sorry for the delay. Here's chapter seven :)

Sasuke woke up to see that the sand storm still hadn't stopped. Sometimes the storms were so bad that they continued for two to three days and he hope this wasn't one of those storms. He then noticed Sakura's head resting on his shoulder as she slept. Immediately their last conversation came into his mind. He let out a sigh and tried drifting back to sleep; it was still quite early. It was that or maybe he just didn't want to wake up the pink haired kunoichi sleeping on his shoulder. Sasuke thought the latter was impossible and closed his eyes.

Kisame and Kabuto made their way to Konoha at quite a slow pace because they knew the Hachibi needed to be captured before they went after the Kuyuubi.

"I have no idea what Madara was thinking when he sent us so Konoha this early." Kisame complained.

"Don't you get it? He's using Sasuke to capture the Hachibi himself. He thinks Sasuke will be defeated by the Hachibi and he'll take that opportunity to grab the Hachibi while it's weak." Kabuto explained. Madara had explained his plan to him earlier.

"That's a good plan but Sasuke isn't Zetsu he should know that defeating Sasuke won't be as easy as defeating Zetsu and why doesn't Madara want our help to extract the Bijuu this time? If we head for the leaf village he has to do it on his own." Kisame said and Kabuto kept silent thinking about what he said. Madara hadn't told him anything about that. Maybe he had his own plans.

"Put your hood back on. You're snake skin is bugging me." Kisame suddenly said.

"Look who's talking, shark boy."

Sakura woke up and rubbed her eyes seeing Sasuke sleeping beside her. She sat leaning against the wall and Sasuke opened his eyes when he felt the weight lift from his shoulder. He couldn't go back to sleep after all.

"Morning Sasuke." Sakura greeted.

"Hn…it's almost noon." He said. Sakura glanced outside to see that the storm still hadn't stopped.

"It's still pretty strong. I hope it stops soon." Sakura spoke as she stared at the sand storm.

"We need to look for something to eat." Sasuke said and stood up, dusting the dirt off his clothes.

"Don't worry about it. I picked two apples on our way here." Sakura said, opening her pouch and taking out two apples from it. She threw on to Sasuke which he caught easily.

"Thanks." He mumbled and took a big bite from the apple.

"You're welcome." She said and took a bite from hers. The two waited for the sand storm to pass and soon, after a few hours it had stopped. It was already afternoon and Sasuke knew they'd have to stop again soon when it became dark.

He told Sakura to pick up the pace because they had to get through the desert before they got caught in another sand storm. The two started running with great speed and were able to cross the desert before dark.

"There's a small forest up ahead and after that we'll enter the lightning country right?" Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah, we'll spend the night in the forest. We'll need the energy for tomorrow." He spoke and two kept going and soon entered the forest. Sasuke decided to keep going further in since there was still light.

The two almost crossed the forest and they could see the rocky terrains of the lightning country up ahead.

"We'll stop here. There might be guards at the terrain. We'll be safe here." Sasuke concluded. He lit a fire with his jutsu and the two heard Sakura's stomach grumble. She blushed in embarrassment and Sasuke gave out a low chuckle.

"Sorry bout that." She quickly said and looked away.

"It happens to everyone. You're just hungry. I'll see if I can find any animals." His tone was a bit different when he spoke. He stood up and went into another part of the forest.

He came back in a little while with a rabbit in his hand.

"This was all I could find." He tossed it towards her and she gently caught it.

"How can you be so heartless Sasuke? You want me to kill this cute little bunny?" She held up the rabbit in front of his face.

"Don't get it so close to my face and besides it's either us or it and I prefer not to go in battle on an empty stomach." Sasuke waved a hand in order to get it away from him. Sakura giggled and gave out a defeating sigh.

"Fine you win Sasuke. But you're the one who's going to kill this poor thing. Otherwise I'm letting it go." She said and handed it to Sasuke. He gave out an annoying sigh.

"Fine, whatever." He took it and they ended up having rabbit for dinner.

"Sasuke? I was wondering why I wasn't given an Akatsuki cloak and ring. Does that mean Madara doesn't trust me? And how come you're not wearing one?" She asked once they were finished with their dinner.

"I don't know really. I guess it doesn't really matter anymore. The Akatsuki is falling apart. What's the point of having cloaks? Besides, I never liked them either." He shrugged and closed his eyes and leaned against a tree.

"Wake me up around midnight." He spoke and Sakura climbed on top of a tree branch and sat there so, she would have a better view of the area.

The next morning Sasuke woke Sakura really early and they headed off to the lightning country as soon as they could.

"Avoid any unnecessary battles. We're here only for the Hachibi." Sasuke said and they proceeded with caution.

Meanwhile Naruto panted as he was done with his training. Yamato had a smile on his face.

"You did very well Naruto." He patted his back.

"Oh yeah! You're the man." Bee said and held his fist in front of Naruto. Naruto gave him a fist bump and laughed.

"Yeah! Nothing's gonna stop Uzumaki Naruto now! Believe it!" He cheered. Everyone sweat dropped seeing how much energy he had left after his intense training.

Sasuke and Sakura were in hiding. They had managed to find Bee's island.

"What's Naruto doing here?" Sakura thought as the two watched him rejoice.

"Dammit there are too many people." Sasuke thought and started thinking about his next course of action. But it was too late.

"Someone's here yo!" Bee said and the rest became alerted.

"That charka. It can't be." Naruto whispered. Kakashi activated his Sharingan.

"There they are." He pointed north. Everyone split up in order to corner them.

"Crap!" Sasuke muttered.

"Come out now. We know you're in there." Yamato spoke. Sasuke knew there was no point in trying to resist. They were out numbered and he could sense that Naruto's powers had grown. He signaled Sakura that they should surrender and she nodded in response. As decided the two of them jumped down from the tree and team seven came face to face.

"Sasuke" Naruto whispered as stared at his best friend for a moment and he suddenly grabbed him by the shirt and punched him hard.

"You idiot! What do you think you're doing? Sasuke-teme! You killed your brother, what else do you want huh?" He screamed and pulled back his fist to deliver another punch but was stopped by Yamato.

"Naruto you must calm down." Yamato spoke and Naruto slowly let go of Sasuke. A bruise had formed where he had punched him. Naruto looked at Sakura and she looked away from him and stared at the ground.

"And Sakura-chan, why did you leave as well? I promised you that I'd bring the teme back. It was a promise of a lifetime. Wh-" Naruto was cut off when Kakashi out his arm up in front of him.

"That's enough Naruto." He whispered and turned his attention to his other two students.

"Sasuke Uchiha. S-class rouge ninja. There's no pint in resisting; come with us quietly and we might make your punishment less severe." He spoke without any emotion in his voice. Sasuke just glared at his ex-sensei.

"Why don't you cut this act and just execute me already." He spoke and anger and hatred was clearly evident in his voice. Kakashi ignored him and looked at Sakura.

"Sakura Haruno, since you've abandoned the village and joined the Akatsuki you are also considered as an S-ranked criminal and you shall receive punishment as well." Sakura stayed silent.

"We need to take them to the Raikage first." Kakashi spoke and Yamato nodded.

"But Kakashi-sensei, the Raikage might try and kill them. Who knows what that crazy old guy will do to them." Naruto protested.

"Yo that crazy old man happens to be my bro!" Bee said from behind. Naruto laughed in embarrassment.

"Riiight, I forgot you were here." He said and turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"We don't have any other choice at the moment Naruto and the Raikage won't execute them without consulting the Hokage first. Besides, they have information." Kakashi spoke and they were on their way to the Raikage's building.

The Raikage almost attacked Sasuke when they walked in but managed to control his anger. He decided that they will be in the cell watched by fifteen shinobis and the leaf ninjas will also be there. Kakashi excused himself as he had to write a report about the situation and send it to the Hokage.

Sasuke and Sakura had their charkas drained and were kept in the lightning country's most guarded cell. Sasuke knew that it was impossible for him to get out of here. He sensed that Naruto's power now equaled his own. Over that there was the Raikage, Hachibi and the other leaf ninjas to worry about.

He hadn't said a word to Sakura while they've been in the cell. Sakura scooted over to him and leaned on the wall beside him. Sasuke sighed, "I lost Sakura. I've thought about it but it's impossible to get out of here alive."

She put her hand on his and spoke, "You haven't lost Sasuke. You defeated Danzou, the one behind Itachi's actions. You're revenge is done but you don't realize that. Now you've been given a chance to return to your village. The village Itachi loved." She squeezed his hand trying to comfort him. He sighed.

"I don't know what to do yet Sakura. It's quite a difficult decision to make." He said and looked at her. Sakura said nothing and placed her hand on his cheek and started healing the bruise that had formed from Naruto's punch.

"What should I do Sakura?" He asked his eyes held confusion as he stared at her.

"Well, just listen to whatever your heart says and whatever you decide, just promise me one thing." She turned sideways to face him with a serious look on her face.

"What is it?" He asked, not quite sure of what she wanted.

"Promise me that you won't leave me again." She said and he could see her eyes watering up. He instantly had a flashback of the night he had left her on that bench.

"I won't leave you Sakura. I promise." He spoke and slowly drew his face closer until his lips met hers.