Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! Only the parts that I'm adapting into the original story line.

Fated Encounter

CHAPTER 25

"I have a very delicate composition." Suigetsu groaned tiredly to Karin who was once again fuming.

They were constantly forced to stop to take rests because of the dwindling water supply that was affecting Suigetsu's energy levels. It was tiresome and a bit frustrating, but Sakura was getting used to it.

A part of her wanted to reach the next village as quickly as possible to gather her own energy and chakra levels, but she knew they had a few more hours to go at this rate. The dizziness and small fuzziness inside her head were signs that her body was indeed in need to rest and some food.

"Why don't you just evaporate, you water monster!" Karin fired back.

The funniest thing about this whole thing was that Sakura must be getting too much into this Karin versus Suigetsu thing. Her mind was coming up with ideas such as that Karin was actually infatuated with Suigetsu, and that is why she was so against him. But the more she stared at the fighting couple the more she took notice of the faint blush covering Karin's cheeks.

Of course, the blush could be because of the aggravation she was feeling towards the Mist shinobi. Actually, it might the most reasonable answer to everything, but in some weird way those two suited each other. They liked to bicker and fight with each other. There was never a dull moment between them unless Sasuke got annoyed by them.

Maybe they were in love? Maybe they just had a really weird way of showing it.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders by herself earning an odd look from their newest companion, Jūgo. He had not commented Suigetsu and Karin's arguments in anyway. He merely regarded the who act with mild interest and a slight raise of brow. It might be new to him to see such interactions after being in the Northern hideout for so long.

All in all, he looked even more anti-social then Sasuke, who was known for that behavior.

Sakura glanced at him with an open look and he quickly turned his head in the other direction. Yup, anti-social to the core. No wonder he decided to follow Sasuke, Sakura giggled inside her head.

Sasuke walked back towards the group, "Suigetsu, manage for few more hours."

Suigetsu groaned loudly almost flopping on the ground, "I need rest."

"All of us need rest. You're not the only one." Sasuke tone lowered to a dangerous level. Suigetsu's head snapped back up in puzzlement as he scanned the people in front of him. Something caught his attention, but he was quick enough to conceal the worried look before Sakura could pin point what had caused it.

She carefully scanned everyone else to see what was going on because Suigetsu's demeanor changed completely. Somehow, he seemed more energetic with his corrected posture and that familiar grin on his face.

"I was just joking! Let's get a move on!" He chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Idiot." Karin whispered loudly enough for the water user to hear, but to Sakura's surprise he didn't comment on it in any way.

The whole air around the team changed drastically at that point. Everyone walked in silence and Suigetsu didn't comment or say anything.

Sakura still felt light headed and nauseated and fuzzy, but the calmness and anticipation of reaching their next destination made her keep going. Maybe a couple of times she almost stumbled, but she also easily caught herself. Her body was lacking from not having enough food once again and her mind was having a hard time keeping up.

The rest of the two hours went by oddly fast and in a cloud of exhaustion for Sakura. When the small houses of the village came in view she felt the tension leaving her body and her tight shoulders relaxing. At that point, she realized her whole body was on edge because the massive exhaustion looming over her head.

And seeing those houses was the trigger. Her whole body just sagged in her next step and the last thing she saw was the ground coming fast at her.

Something brushed Sakura's arm and alerting her awake.

Her mind was familiarly fuzzy and disoriented as she quickly opened her eyes to scan her surroundings. The room she was in was almost pitch black and for a moment her heart beat leaped. She felt the dread of being back in one of Orochimaru's hideout under the ground surround her. It wasn't a nice feeling since she dreaded the idea of spending her free-time without any natural light.

But nothing else except the darkness brought back memories of those dungeon like hallways. There wasn't anyone screaming or crying for help. The only sound in the whole room was a soft purring sound that came from next to Sakura's arm. For a second, he whole body tensed and she was ready to fight whatever it us, until her mind finally caught up.

The furry thing brushed against her arm again and the purring only got louder.

"A cat?" Sakura whispered hoarsely in the room.

The cat seemed to snap out of its nap as it's gleaming eyes appeared in the darkness looking straight at her.

Sakura licked her lips nervously.

The purring only continued as the small animal got up from Sakura's side and began walking away from her. Sakura only barely could follow the dark outline of the feline, but she heard the scratching that echoed in the room as the cat wanted out.

Nobody came to open the door and Sakura carefully got up. She could easily recall that she had lost consciousness as they had neared their destination. Her body was still sluggish and her muscles began shaking from the small effort of getting up from the futon.

As she finally opened the door to a dimly lit hallway, the cat whined to get her attention. In the lighting, Sakura took notice of the deep midnight black coloring and a white spot around its left eye. The cat sat across the hallway, looking expectantly at Sakura.

Sakura glanced around the hallway to see if the other direction would be better, but the darkness at the far end didn't seem welcoming. Hesitantly, she walked after the feline who was now happily trotting forward while glancing at Sakura every now and then.

As they walked around a corner, Sakura could hear someone muttering. The cat seemed to notice that too as it fastened up its pace and soon disappeared inside a room that had a bright yellow light coming from inside it.

"Oh! Naka! There you are. Where is t-" A girly voice talked obviously to the cat as Sakura peeked inside the room. The other girl's eyes widened as a smiled spread on to her face.

"You're awake! We left Naka with you to guard you until you woke up! I hope you're feeling better now."

"Thanks." Sakura muttered a little awkwardly. She had no idea who the girl is and where exactly she was. Neither did she know where Sasuke and the rest of their group was, which only added to her rising nervousness.

"I'm Tamaki, by the way!" The girl offered her hand and Sakura shook it.

"I'm Sakura."

"I know! Your friends told us." Tamaki smiled and dug in to a piled of clothing. "I'm trying to find some suitable clothes for that big guy since his clothes seem a little too roughed up."

"You mean Jūgo."

Suddenly, the more Sakura looked at the girl the more she felt like they had met before.

"Have we met before?" Sakura asked with a small tilt of her head.

Tamaki's surprised face came from under the pile of shirts as her eyes landed on Sakura. It was a moment of silence between them as both regarded one another.

"Wait..." the brown-haired girl said and turned to look at Sakura properly. "Shouldn't you have a bright pink hair?"

Sakura only nodded and Tamaki's eyes widened.

"Yes! Of course! You came with your team. You had that blond energetic boy with you, too. You know?"

The more the girl explained the more Sakura remembered. The cat ears she and Sasuke had to wear.

They were at Nekobaa's. It finally dawned on her where they were headed. Had she been in a better condition she would have probably realized where they were going the moment she saw the abandoned village. Sakura felt like kicking herself.

"So~ what happened to your hair? Did it discolor during the years?"

"No, I colored it."

"Well that's a shame. It was such a unique color though."

"I'm trying to get it back." Sakura said with a shrug of her shoulders. She barely even glanced at mirrors lately so she didn't have to see what the odd brownish tint in her hair looked to someone else's eyes.

"Good! I think the brown color just doesn't suit you."

"I know."

"But! We need to get you something to eat. Sasuke-san was very adamant on getting some food in you when you finally wake up." Tamaki explained and took out another t-shirt from the bile. She assessed the piece for a moment.

"I think this should fit."

The piece was quite bit shirt and Sakura had to admit that it should fit Jūgo just right. Of course, she wasn't one into stylish clothing or fashion in general. That was more Ino's thing.

Quickly, Sakura brushed the thought of Ino aside before it affected her mood. She does her best to keep everyone in Konoha out of her mind. That way she won't have to suffer through the emotional effects of missing someone. It was cruel and painful to do so because Ino was literally her best friend. But thinking about her bright blond hair and that teasing tone didn't help Sakura at all.

Maybe it did give her some boost to more forward and find the stupid reason behind her having to desert the village.

What could even be such a reason? She hadn't done anything to anyone.

"Umm, Sakura?" Tamaki's voice broke Sakura from her thoughts.

"What?"

"You spaced out completely." Tamaki giggled but Sakura saw the slight concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine." Sakura brushed it off immediately, "Should we find something to eat?"

"Y-yeah! Of course. Follow me."

As Sakura started trailing after the other girl she couldn't help but hear the soft moving of the cat walking next to her. Naka was obviously following the two girls intently towards the kitchen. Finally after a moment of walking the cat began running through the hallway almost causing Tamaki to stumble in its haste as the car slipped into another room.

"She's in a hurry." Tamaki mumbled and followed after the cat.

At that point, Sakura was more than happy to sit down on the table in the small kitchen as Tamaki dug through the fridge. Soon she had some left-overs in front of her with a glass of water and without thinking Sakura devoured the whole plate.

"You sure you don't want more?" Tamaki asked as Sakura got up from the table to help wash the dishes.

"No, thank you. This was enough for me for now." Sakura said honestly and washed the plate.

"Could you tell me where Sasuke is?" Sakura finally asked as she turned to the brown-haired girl.

"He's in one of the quest rooms near your room."

"Could you lead me there?" Sakura really wanted to see the guy for real since all of this just felt so surreal. She hadn't heard anything or seen anyone else except Tamaki and the cat Naka. And being honest, it was odd not to hear Suigetsu and Karin bickering with each other every now and then.

"He seemed quite grumpy. Sure you wanna wake him up? I doubt he's going to be that happy about it." Tamaki pondered aloud and bit her lip nervously, "At least I wouldn't want to wake an Uchiha up. That would be the last thing I would ever do!"

Sakura smiled softly, "I'm sure I'll manage. He knows what's coming at him if he does anything."

"Well, good to know that not everyone is following him like a lost puppy." Tamaki laughed and headed out of the kitchen.

"I think you can find your room after you're done with your little quest. It's in the next hallway." The other girl explained and pointed in the said direction as they neared Sasuke's room.

"I'll be fine." Sakura replied and said goodnight as Tamaki continued her way down the hallway disappearing into shadows.

I promised to put a SasuSaku moment in this one, but decided against it eventually. That scene will be in the next chapter, right at the beginning. And the next chapter will be up next week.

Thanks for reviewers:

Uchiha Misaki

Peppei

goon

guest

Guest

severito

Emily da great

ILoveSxS

Lady Rini

Meech Macko

Life is still kicking me in my butt. I'm having trouble sleeping which affects my inspiration because I'm constantly tired. Let's hope this annoying phase in my life passes on soon.

Leave a review! They really make my day and I really need all the support you can give for my tired mind. :D

- Jakura