The forest was dense and dark with very little moonlight. She tried to find her way but she stopped in her tracks as a kunai she didn't see scratched the side of her face. He knows where I am. Well if he knows, I might as well go straight for him and get pay back for scratching my cheek.

As she made her way towards him, more kunai flew towards her but she was prepared this time. She threw her kunai in the direction his attack came from and continued forward.

It turned into a game of cat and mouse, only she was the mouse when she thought she was the cat. He knows where she is but she has no idea where he is hiding.

"Damn you", she cursed under her breath. Sakura got close enough a few times but he always got away. She was just wasting her weapons on him. It was obvious he was toying with her.

A kunai flew at her and Sakura knocked it away with the one in her hand. She then ran towards him at full speed ad slashed at him. She smirked. She cut his arm and that's the closest she got. At least I got you back bastard, she thought to herself with a hint of pride.

He hid again and Sakura's senses were at a new high. She forgot her fears and her only thought was getting to him so her friends could fight easily. Her will power was fueled by her adrenaline and her need to protect her friends. She tried to focus and find him.

Right there! Sakura rushed forward into the darkness where he hid.

Pulled up against a tree, with her kunai at his throat, was a young man. Possibly around the age of 22. Sakura had a hard look on her face and her eyes burned with fire.

He took in a deep breath and Sakura suddenly held her breath. She finally took in his form. His hood wasn't covering his face anymore and he was beautiful. In the moonlight, his pale skin looked like milk and his hair was long and black as ebony. His face was perfection with a chiseled jaw line, with lips that were turned up in a taunting smirk, eyes, that were almost covered with his ebony hair, were as dark as the night itself but deep enough to trap your soul. Sakura was enchanted and her voice was lost somewhere inside her.

"Amusing", he spoke with a slight hint of sarcasm. She didn't realize how close his face was. His voice was deep but velvety smooth and Sakura was dazed. Who is he? She thought to herself. Who is this guy?

He looked straight into her eyes and because it was dark, Sakura couldn't tell if they were black or if they were a deep blue, almost like the night sky. His face was inches away from hers but she couldn't move back. She couldn't even take her eyes away from his. There was just something about them, they were so capturing and they held on to her soul.

"Cherry Blossom", he whispered with his velvety smooth voice but this time it wasn't sarcastic or taunting. Sakura couldn't say anything in return, she just stared at him like a deer in headlights.

He moved closer and his face was right beside hers, the complete force of her Kunai against his throat was lost. "I'll see you again", he whispered into her ear and then his face was right in front of hers again, just inches away.

What is he? She thought to herself. Before she could begin to speak, his eyes turned from the beautiful night sky to crimson red, almost like blood. Sakura was shocked but she couldn't look away. This time, it wasn't because she was captivated by him but because those eyes held on to her and wouldn't let her go. Mangekyo Sharingan, she realized, those eyes are the mangekyo sharingan. She started to panic and before she could realize what was happening, she started to drift off into darkness.

"Cherry Blossom" was the last thing she heard before collapsing.

"Ugh, my head…" Sakura felt groggy and her head was pounding. What just happened to me? She recalled only up until the shinobi's eyes turned red and after that it was nothing. She abruptly got up and clenched her aching head.

"You're lucky you're alive, you know?" Shikamaru said calmly but she knew he was furious.

She realized she was in an opening in the forest with a fire lit and not in the dense forest where she was clearly put under genjutsu.

"How did I get here?" she asked looking around. Why didn't he just kill me?

"Hinata sensed your chakra disappear for a moment. As soon as that happened, the one we were fighting retreated. We tried looking for you and found your two hours later with your chakra almost gone", Shikamaru explained. "Don't do anything reckless next time. You knew we had to stick together. You shouldn't have gone off on your own". He was angry and Sakura felt guilty but she had to or they all would have died.

"I know, Shikamaru but I had to help you guys," she defended, "I couldn't let you guys die like that".

Shikamaru sighed. Sakura knew he was mad but she did it for a reason. She wasn't just going to let her team die, she won't make that mistake again.

"Don't worry Sakura", Hinata reassured, "just rest now and build up your strength for the morning. We're headed to see the Raikage and then back to the Leaf. Shikamaru sent a messenger bird to Lady Tsunade so she can get us permission".

"Right", Choji added, "we need to explain our situation to the Raikage since it was close to his border".

"Alright you guys, now go to sleep", Shikamaru ordered.

Sakura laid down again. They probably had three hours to sleep before they had to get up again and Sakura was feeling weak.

As Sakura was laying down, she recalled the fight in the forest and she remembered his face. He was so beautiful, it made Sakura blush. Blush? Why am I blushing? She felt embarrassed now for being so captivated by an enemy. But there was just something about him that Sakura couldn't help but be drawn to.

And his sharingan. That was what frightened her about him and not just his sharingan, but the mangekyo. She heard of its power and it makes her cringe. Why didn't he kill me though? She wondered, he had every chance to kill me. He is an elite shinobi with that kind of powerful dojutsu and skill.

She thought about that all night. He called her Cherry Blossom, he toyed with her, and now that she thinks about it, he went easy on her. There is no way I could have gotten my kunai up against his throat that easily, she realized. And why did he call her Cherry Blossom? Was this some sort of cheap way to mess with her head so she loses her focus? And that too with his beautiful looks? This irritated Sakura. She couldn't believe she fell for his so called charm. She clearly lost focus since she couldn't slit his throat when she had the chance.

Her goal for the night was trying to figure out who this mysterious enemy shinobi was. They didn't have much information on the Akatasuki or their abilities but they did have some of their faces and their names in the Bingo Book. The Bingo Book!

Sakura got up from her sleeping bag and opened Shikamaru's bag, only Jounin were given one from the Hokage and she was still a Chunin. She looked over and found him sleeping. Sakura turned her attention to his bag and finding the book. Once she found it, she sat beside the fire and flipped through the members of the Akatsuki.

Leader of the Akatsuki, she read, unknown village. "It doesn't even have his picture" Sakura mumbled to herself.

She flipped through the next page. "Hidan, village unknown. And this too with no picture".

Next page. "Deidara, from the Hidden Stone village, at least there is a picture of him".

Next page. "Kisame Hoshigaki, from the Hidden Mist village and a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He is the only one with this much information and it's not even enough," she muttered to herself.

She flipped to the next page. "Itachi Uchiha from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Former ANBU Black Ops Captain. Listed as an international criminal after slaughtering his entire clan. Possesses the sharingan of the Uchiha clan", she read to herself. Oh my gosh! She was shocked. The long ebony hair, those eyes as dark as the night sky and the chiseled jaw line and beautiful face. That's him! She was sure of it. There is no mistaking those features, especially those eyes. But if he is an Uchiha, then he is probably the only surviving Uchiha besides Sasuke. He had to be Sasuke's brother. Sakura was in disbelief, he looks just like him.

I put up two chapters in a row because I hadn't post anything for a whole week. Hope this chapter is better and I hope the story is getting better!

Thank you for reading! Until next time.

- Marrs AK

xox