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Chapter Six: Search

Konoha Village

Hokage Building

Naruto crossed his arms stubbornly. He was mumbling something about stubborn grannies when the Hokage slammed her fist down.

"Naruto! Shut up! I've sent out four different ANBU squads and they still haven't found a trace. Tsunade was beyond annoyed at Naruto. She was pissed. He had come by every day to badger her about finding Sakura. Tsunade remembered when they had first arrived back from the unsuccessful mission, one member missing in action.

"Tsunade!" Shizune burst into the Hokage's office.

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. "Yes, Shizune?"

"Team 7's back from their mission!"

Tsunade put folded her hands together in front of her face and nodded. "Send them in."

Sai, Yamato, and Naruto all entered, all leaning on each other for support. Tsunade sighed and waved them off. "Go to the hospital. Sakura will give me the details of the mission." Then Tsunade frowned. "Did Sakura not heal you?"

The boys exchanged glances, not sure how to say it. Yamato spoke up.

"Sakura is MIA. She was taken by Sasuke to bring to Orochimaru." He spoke in his ANBU tone, but his eyes held concern for his missing student.

Tsunade swallowed the lump in her throat, and tried to keep the tremor out of her voice. Her face remained impassive. "Tell me what happened."

Yamato described in detail what had occurred. When he was finished Tsunade dismissed him, telling him to go to the hospital. She also sent Naruto. Sai looked to be in the best condition of all. As he turned to leave, Tsunade stopped him.

"Sai, you stay. I want to hear your uptake on the mission."

Sai felt nervous for the first time in awhile. He debated on whether or not to tell her he'd almost betrayed Konoha and destroyed their mission. He decided that lies would only do more damage than the truth.

He spent an hour being interrogated by the Hokage. Once he was done and Tsunade was satisfied she sent him to the hospital as well.

Tsunade put her face in her hands. Shizune, who had been quietly standing in the background holding Ton-Ton, approached her quietly.

"Tsunade, what are you going to do?"

Tsunade sighed. "Shizune, gather ANBU squad 4, and bring them here."

"Hai, Tsunade." Shizune rushed out to do the Hokage's bidding.

Every ANBU team had come back without a trace. It was as if Sakura had just…vanished. Kakashi had even sent Pakkun with them, but her scent just stopped. Each time the missions were unsuccessful, Tsunade went home and cried. She remembered her younger brother and her lover. She still missed them terribly. Sakura and Naruto were the first people, besides Shizune, that she had grown attached to here. She held respect and even affection for her fellow villagers and shinobi, but Naruto had been another little brother to her. And Sakura…she had been like a little sister. The daughter that she never had. She had been a good pupil, the best any sensei could ever ask for.

Tsunade felt so hopeless, that she couldn't do anything. Just like when her brother and lover died. And when she saw Naruto's determined gaze to help his friend almost made her send him off to do just that.

And here Naruto was now, asking her for the umpteenth time to send him to search for Sakura.

"Granny Tsunade please!" Naruto yelled. "I'm going to go anyways, so you might as well make it easier on yourself and make it a mission!"

Tsunade replied in a calm voice. "Naruto, you realize that if you leave here you will be branded a traitor, and your dreams of becoming Hokage would vanish?"

"I don't care! I'm not going to abandon Sakura! Kakashi-sensei told us long ago that ninja who break the rules are scum, but ninja who abandon their friends are worse than scum! Well, I'm not scum! And nor will I ever abandon my friends! That's my nindo, my ninja way!"

Tsunade sighed. After days of hearing this speech, she was sick of it. "Naruto, if I let you go you cannot complain with who I assemble as your team, or your team leader."

Naruto nodded eagerly, happy that he had finally won.

Ten minutes later a team of four ninja were assembled in the Hokage office: Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Sai.

Tsunade briefed them on their mission. "This will be a squad of five, with Shikamaru as your leader. Your mission is to locate and bring back Sakura. However, if the situation becomes too dangerous for your capabilities, you are to report back here immediately. I do not want any unnecessary injuries, is that clear?"

"Hai!"

"Any questions?"

Shikamaru stepped forward. "Hokage, who is the fifth member?"

As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door. "Come in!" Tsunade bellowed.

Shikamaru turned around and his heart started to beat just a little faster.

"Temari!"

The sand-nin grinned. "I'm here to repay a debt to Konoha, and more importantly to Sakura. She helped me when my brothers were in trouble, and saved Kankuro's life."

Shikamaru nodded at her in greeting, and she nodded back.

"That's what took me so long to organize this mission, Naruto. The Sand shinobi had a debt to pay." Naruto nodded, understanding. Tsunade dismissed them, and they all bowed quickly and left.

Sasuke and Sakura had been traveling for a few hours. Sasuke looked at his surroundings.

"This is close enough," Sasuke stated. Sakura nodded and gratefully took a break. Sasuke took out a whistle that Orochimaru had given him, and blew it. They waited. A half an hour later (while Sakura was dozing off) a white messenger bird circled them. Sasuke held out his arm, and the bird landed on it. Sasuke tied a message to its leg, and told it a destination. It flew off into the sky, quickly becoming a black dot.

Sasuke shouldered his pack and said, "Let's go."

Sakura quickly scrambled to her feet. "That's it?" she asked.

"Yes. Hurry up or you'll be left behind."

"But I thought-"

"Sakura, our mission was to get close enough to send a bird with a message from Orochimaru to Konoha. That was it."

Sakura looked behind her as they walked in the opposite direction the bird had taken. "You mean-"

"No, Sakura. We're still a couple of days away from Konoha. You wouldn't be able to get their on your own. Unless you want to get lost and die, or have my capture you and die, I suggest you just shut up and listen."

"Y-yes, Sasuke." Sakura bowed her head and kicked a pebble.

Sasuke regretted his harsh words but knew that nothing else would get to her. She didn't realize the danger that she was in, just being with him. Or maybe she did now, seeing as how an Akatsuki member had targeted her last night. Why, he still did not know.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"Do we really have to go back so soon?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Sakura, we're late as it is. Orochimaru will be wondering where we are." Sasuke sighed. He didn't want to go back either. Oh, he knew he had to go back eventually. He needed the power Orochimaru could give him. As much as he tried to squash that feeling inside of him, he knew that he missed Konoha. And a certain kunoichi in it…Hell, he even missed the loud-mouth Naruto and his former sensei, Kakashi.

Sasuke mentally battled with himself. He had severed those bonds. They would only hinder him on the path that he had chosen. He had been so absorbed in his thinking that he hadn't seen the kunai that was coming straight towards him.

"Sasuke!" His senses went haywire as he felt danger. He didn't have enough time to react, and he thought he saw his death mirrored in the kunai as it seemed to come at him in slow motion. Then he saw a silver blur out of the corner of his eye, and the death kunai fell to the ground, stopped by the kunai Sakura had thrown.

Sasuke looked around for the perpetrator. He heard a chuckle, and the rustle of bushes as an Akatsuki member stepped out. He fingered the straw hat so that it covered his face.

Sasuke and Sakura assumed defensive stances.

"Who are you?" Sakura demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sakura recognized the voice as belonging to the one who had attacked her the previous night.

To her surprise the man took off his hat, revealing a high ponytail with dark blond hair and bangs that covered up his left eye.

Sakura breathed a little faster. She hadn't seen this one, but had heard about him from Naruto. This was the one who had defeated Gaara, but Naruto had said that he and Kakashi had defeated him.

"You're Deidara, correct?" Sakura asked.

He grinned. "I'm flattered that you know me, Sakura."

Sakura's hands formed into tight fists. "How do you know me?"

"Oh, I know all about you and your abilities. Our leader is very interested in you."

"Why?" Sakura demanded. Sasuke just kept silent, watching and waiting.

Deidara shrugged his shoulders. "If you come with me I'll tell you."

Sakura snorted. "You think I'm that stupid?"

"No, I think you're that smart. If you come without a fight, things will go a lot easier on you."

Sasuke stepped in front of her. "She's not going anywhere," he growled, activating his Sharingan.

"Is that supposed to scare me? Frankly, I'm not impressed. I've witnessed what Sharingan is capable of. You haven't even scratched the surface. Perhaps you should follow your brother's advice-" He was cut off as Sasuke charged him.

He had him pinned against the tree with a kunai pressed to his throat in less than a second. "Don't ever mention him unless you have a death wish."

Deidara smirked. "A little touchy, are we, hmmm?"

Sasuke punched him in the gut. Deidara laughed as he coughed up blood. "So this is what the youngest Uchiha is made of? Don't make me laugh."

This time it was Sasuke who smirked. "So you want to see what I'm made of?"

Sasuke released Deidara and jumped back. He jerked his head slightly, indicating for Deidara to "bring it on."

Deidara held out a palm of his hand. Sasuke was about to attack when Sakura interrupted him.

"Sasuke, be careful! He makes clay animals from the mouths in the palm of his hands. He can manipulate the clay and make it explode!"

Sasuke nodded.

Deidara smiled. "I knew she was smart. Not just anyone could've defeated Sasori."

Sasuke flung a kunai at Deidara. "Pay attention to me! I am your opponent!"

Deidara looked at him, and sighed. "As much as I'd like to shut that mouth of yours, Uchiha, I'm afraid that you'll have to live to fight another day."

Before Sasuke could reply there was an explosion right beside him, and Sasuke was knocked into a tree with such force that the tree was blown right out of the ground. His head slumped forward, as his vision blurred and blood trickled down the side of his head. He faintly heard someone yell his name. He tried to move but a tree pinned his leg to the ground.

He looked around for Sakura and her monstrous strength, but he saw her on the ground, dazed. He was about to call her name when he saw something running towards her.

"No…" he whispered, but it was too late.

"Are we there yet?" asked an agitated Naruto.

Shikamaru sighed. "No, Naruto. We're traveling as fast as we can."

"We've been traveling for three days!" Naruto growled. He looked back. "Hinata! Do you see anything?"

"Byakugan!" Hinata scanned the area. "I don't see any trace of her…wait!"

The group of five stopped. Hinata concentrated more chakra into her Byakugan. "I-I saw an explosion up ahead!"

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata pointed in the direction. "Approximately a mile away!"

"Can you see anyone else?" Shikamaru inquired.

Hinata shook her head. "No, it's too far away."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see who it is!" Naruto yelled.

Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto, I'm the captain of this mission, and I'll say what it is we do."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Oh…right."

Shikamaru informed his team, mustering all of the authority he could into his voice. "We will go and see who it is."

Everyone else just sweat dropped, but nodded and said, "Hai!"

Sakura was flung backwards from the explosion, but it only dazed her. Her pack, which had just been strapped to one shoulder, had been separated from her when the force of the blast threw knocked her away. She saw something fall out of her pack out of the corner of her eye, but it was soon forgotten as she landed on the hard ground and had the wind knocked out of her. Sakura shook her head to wake herself up.

Just as she was about to get up, she saw a clay animal come racing towards her. In the blink of an eye it exploded and the force of the impact between herself and a few trees completely knocked her out.

Deidara smirked. "That was a little disappointing. I expected more of a challenge than that. Oh well, at least I got what I came for." He picked Sakura up like a sack of potatoes and threw her over his shoulder. He called his clay bird, and off he went into the setting sun.

Hinata gasped. "There was another explosion!"

Shikamaru nodded. "I could hear it."

"Hinata, can you see anyone now?"

Hinata concentrated more and more chakra. "Yes! I see someone! They seem to be trapped under a pile of trees!"

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled, and raced ahead of the others.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru yelled after him. "Stay in line!" But it was no use. The demon fox boy was already too far ahead of him to hear it.

Shikamaru shook his head in disgust. That boy never changes, he thought.

They all looked around at the clearing, and all of the debris.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled. "SAKURA!"

"Naruto! Stop yelling!" Shikamaru ordered.

Naruto went up and grabbed Hinata's arm, but not forcefully. "Hinata, where's the person you saw?"

Hinata couldn't hide the blush that formed on her pale cheeks. "Umm…right over there…underneath the trees…"

"Come on!" Naruto said as he dragged her along with him.

"N-Naruto!" Hinata stammered.

Naruto looked back at Shikamaru, Temari, and Sai. "Well, aren't you going to help with Sakura?"

They all took a step forward and started to help clear away the debris.

"Hold on, Sakura! We're coming!" Naruto yelled encouragingly.

Naruto looked back when Hinata stopped, seeing the frown on her face. "What's wrong, Hinata?"

"N-Naruto…"

"What?"

"It-it's not Sakura."

"What isn't?"

"The person under the debris."

Naruto frowned. "Then who is it?"

As if on cue they heard a groan, and Shikamaru and Sai lifted a log and they got a clear view of just exactly who it was.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed.

Said boy shifted and blinked his black eyes. Naruto hovered over his face, inches from him.

Sasuke frowned. "Sakura?" He couldn't see with the blinding sun.

Naruto gripped the front of Sasuke's shirt and jerked him off of the ground, shaking him. "What did you do to Sakura?" he demanded.

Sasuke blinked a few more times.

"Naruto?"

"Answer me!" Naruto growled.

Sasuke looked at him, and then at the five other shinobi present. He mentally cursed. He really didn't feel like battling them.

He sighed, and jerked away from Naruto. "Where's Sakura?" he demanded of Naruto.

"I just asked you that!"

"Well, I don't know! She was just here with me and…oh no…" Sasuke got quiet.

He looked at where he had last seen Sakura at. She was gone. Nor was there any trace of Deidara.

Sasuke swore, then punched the tree with enough force to knock it down.

Shikamaru stepped forward. "Sasuke Uchiha, the Hokage sent us on a mission to bring back Sakura. We did not expect to find you, but since we have your options are limited. We are obliged to bring you in as an S-class criminal. If you cooperate I'm sure we could negotiate on your sentence."

Sasuke glared at Shikamaru. "You think I give a rat's ass about you guys?"

Hinata flinched at his vulgar language, but the other just looked on.

"Why I oughtta-" Naruto began, but Shikamaru stopped him.

"Easy, Naruto. We want to avoid fighting if at all possible. Now, Uchiha, like I said. You have two options. You can-"

"Like I already said, I don't care. I'm not here to jeopardize your little mission. Now, if you want to avoid bloodshed, I suggest you leave me in peace."

Sasuke turned to go, but found he couldn't move. He looked down, and saw his shadow connected with Shikamaru's.

Sasuke sighed. "But if it's a fight you want…"

"We're not looking for a fight, Uchiha. We're here for Sakura."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but Shikamaru understood his silence. "Well, at least it looks like we're on the same side here."

"Hn."

Naruto couldn't take it any longer and punched Sasuke hard enough to make him bleed. "Why did you hurt Sakura? And why did you take her? After all that she's done for you-"

Sasuke glared. "Shut-up, Naruto. You're so annoying."

Naruto just glared back.

Shikamaru sighed. This wasn't getting anywhere. How troublesome.

"Uchiha, it looks like we're both after the same thing here. Why don't we join forces for the time being? We both have the same goal, so why don't we work together to achieve it?" Shikamaru didn't need his genius to figure out that an Uchiha was a better ally than an enemy.

"Hn. I don't you pathetic excuses for humans on my side."

Shikamaru ignored that statement, and continued. "So Uchiha, who took Sakura this time?"

Sasuke's lips tightened.

Shikamaru sighed. Man, what a drag!

Temari stepped forward and drew her fan. "Maybe we can force it out of him!" she said threateningly. Sasuke didn't flinch, but Shikamaru did.

"Calm down, woman! We don't want any unnecessary violence!"

Sai said nothing, but stood there, looking bored.

Naruto stepped forwards. "Sasuke…if you have any shred of decency left in you you'll tell us! If you care about Sakura you won't abandon her!"

Sasuke wanted to yell at Naruto that he would never abandon Sakura, but of course he didn't. Rather, Sasuke pressed his lips even tighter together, so that they were almost white.

When the silence stretched longer and longer, Sasuke couldn't take it any more. "Look, it was Deidara, all right? He attacked us last night, and said something about wanting Sakura. Then he attacked us and apparently just took her. That's all I know about it."

Shikamaru nodded, and released the Shadow Possession jutsu.

Hinata searched around using her Byakugan. She spotted something on the ground. "I found something!"

Naruto rushed over, and the rest of them walked quickly. "What is it, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata held up the object. It was Sakura's forehead protector.

"What are you going to do, Shikamaru?" asked Temari.

Shikamaru looked at the setting sun. "We'll pick up her trail tomorrow and continue our mission. We'll bring back our fellow shinobi, all of them," he looked at Sasuke when he said this, but the youngest Uchiha was ignoring them all, staring off into the sun.

Sasuke glared at anything he saw. He couldn't believe that that stupid Shikamaru had made him make a deal. After they had set up camp, he had approached Sasuke, and offered him a full pardon for his crimes in exchange for his help in defeating Orochimaru and Akatsuki. Sasuke's ears had pricked up at the mention of Akatsuki, and his thoughts drifted to those of his older brother. That was the reason that Sasuke gave as to why he would even consider joining with them.

But only Sasuke knew why. He had thought that he had broken the bonds between Sakura and himself, but when he saw her again and almost killed her, the protective side of him took over. The urge to take the hurt away from her was becoming too strong. Sasuke knew that he would go and rescue Sakura without Itachi being there. He was just an added bonus.

Maybe…he thought. Maybe I can defeat him now. I've gotten a lot stronger…and if I kill Itachi now, before Orochimaru can take over my body…then I can go home. Sasuke leaned against a tree. He didn't understand when Sakura had gotten to him. When he had first seen her again, he thought of her as merely a pawn. Soon his icy interior melted to form a calm lake , but now his emotions were a raging dam. He didn't know what he felt for the pink-haired kunoichi, but he knew that he'd go to the ends of the earth to save her if need be.

Sasuke glanced at everyone, who was settled by the campfire. They were talking quietly among themselves. He noticed how close Shikamaru and the sand kunoichi were sitting, and how at ease they were with each other. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He didn't consider himself a jealous person, but right now he'd give anything to be like that with Sakura. But that wasn't the path that life had chosen for him.

He was an avenger. And he must never forget that. No matter how he wished things were different, and that he could return to his old life, Sasuke knew that it could never be. There could be no future between him and Sakura. And no matter how much he wanted it to be true, there destinies just were not intertwined with each others'.

That didn't mean that he couldn't wish they were. If by some miracle Sasuke did defeat Itachi before Orochimaru got a hold of him, and if by some miracle Sasuke was accepted back into Konoha, and if by some miracle Sakura still cared for him, than maybe things would be different. Sasuke knew that there were just too many if's and maybe's.

His thoughts turned towards Sakura and her current predicament. What reason could the Akatsuki have for kidnapping Sakura? Sasuke would never admit it, but he was worried about her. Anything could happen to her in their hands. If Itachi had been capable of murdering his entire clan, he would do anything to Sakura. Including showing off his perfect form of Sharingan. Sasuke shuddered when he remembered what the Mangekyou Sharingan was capable of.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. He would rescue Sakura before they could do anything to her.

For once Naruto was quiet. He had sat down next to Hinata (causing her to blush profusely) and was poking the fire with a stick, looking thoughtful.

"Naruto, you're awful quiet," Shikamaru observed.

Naruto didn't look up. "I'm worried for Sakura."

Hinata nodded. "We all are, Naruto."

Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto…you should get some rest. Everyone should, in fact. I'll take the first watch."

"All right, Shikamaru," he replied, and went to his tent.

"Good night, Naruto," Hinata whispered. She blushed at her bravery.

Naruto put a hand on her shoulder. "Good night, Hinata."

Hinata gulped and nearly fainted at Naruto's touch. But she managed to make it back to her tent. She was surprised that no one had commented on her racing heart, for she was sure that everyone could have heard it. Hinata was ashamed of herself. But she couldn't help but be a little bit envious of Sakura. Naruto cared for her so much, and had always loved her. Hinata had wished so much that he would feel the same way about her that she felt about him. Those bad feelings didn't in any detract from the way she felt about Sakura. She was a good friend, and Hinata was genuinely concerned for her friend's wellbeing. Plus, Naruto would be crushed if anything were to happen to Sakura. Hinata dreamt of Naruto, and how he finally realized that they were meant to be together.

Before going to bed, Naruto thought about Sakura. He was extremely worried about her, especially being in the hands of Akatsuki. At least when she was taken by Orochimaru, Naruto had comforted himself in the fact that Sasuke wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. At least, that's what Naruto had to tell himself to stop from going crazy with worry. But now, there was no one to look out for her. He'd gotten over his childish crush on her, after realizing that she was still in love with Sasuke and would always be. He cared deeply for her, and loved her like a best friend. There would be other girls out there for him, Sakura had told him once. He thought that she had been hinting at something, but didn't think too much of it at the time. Now he wished that he would have. He fell into a dreamless, deep, much-needed slumber.

Aye…here's another update! It might be awhile before another update…Friday's my birthday and I'll be in town…and then this weekend I have a JSA convention to go to…so I'm sorry if it takes awhile. But please review! I always look forward to those, and it helps me update! Thank you to all of those that review! Oh, and I was looking back at the rest of the chapters for this story, and I realize that I made a few mistakes, so I profoundly apologize for those!

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