Oh my god… I am so sorry for the semi-long hiatus. It wasn't that I ran out of ideas… more like I didn't know how to write it down confuzzled Anyway I was so busy with my final CEGEP exams that I lost track of time and now July is almost over! Yeah I know I had two months to write something… so forgive me :D I promise I'll write the next chapter out as soon as possible and have it uploaded by the beginning of next week.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Naruto besides my character.

"SAKURAAAAA-CHAAAAANNNN"

Sakura's eyes nearly popped from her sockets from the unexpected shock as she continued to have a hard time forming words. The blonde ninja fully clad in orange and black then made a daring move from a nearby treetop towards her wide opened window after his loud outburst. The kunoichi was not sure whether she should grasp tightly onto the towel which was beginning to slip off her body or to protect her poor ears from the deafening sound. As the other ninja approached closer, her mind came up with an alternative plan. Her slender arm instinctively recoiled and then began to soar into the air. Sakura's fist connected hard with the blonde ninja's face and sent him flying hundreds of meters towards the jagged cliff.

His body painfully made contact with the Godaime's engraved face. He managed to wipe off some of the black graffiti as his body slid downwards. There were only dark smudges left near the Hokage's chin and Sakura promised herself that she would make sure the prankster would clean it all.

She squinted and when her eyes met a thin scar running across the left cheek of the figure dedicated to the fifth Hokage, she winced involuntarily. She knew she should not have used her superhuman strength to knock some sense into the other ninja. She also knew she would have to face the consequences for her irrational behaviour. But then again, Sakura hoped her shishou would understand her apprentice's reasons for lashing out violently. Both master and apprentice never had much tolerant when it came to voyeurism or perverts in general.

Sakura pulled the curtains and changed rather quickly before the blonde ninja had a chance to get up on his two feet. She then combed through her wet hair with her fingers and gingerly secured the Konoha head protector. Satisfied with her looks, Sakura glanced at her alarm clock on top of her nightstand and realised she had to make up for lost time. She cursed silently while picking up her travel backpack and slinging it over her shoulders. It was not too heavy since she only packed what was necessary for a three day trip, keeping in mind that she could refill once she reaches Sunagakure. The kunoichi slipped through her front door and locked it before heading out of the complex.

Living alone had a lot of advantages and one of them was the flexibilities of her schedule. Sakura could return home however late she wanted to without having her parents berating her tardiness. Another advantage was residing in a close proximity of the hospital and the Hokage's office. This allowed her to be able to get to either places without any delay if an emergency should arise. At first her parents had objected her moving proposal, claiming she was too young to live on her own. However with Sakura's pleading and a bit of the Godaime's assurance for the young girl's safety, her parents finally gave in. It had been a year since she moved out on her own and the kunoichi felt she had become more independent in doing so. Though her parents did visit her often, she managed to put up with their constant fussing.

Biting her lips, Sakura remembered she forgot to inform her parents about her current mission. Being the only child of two overprotective parents, she always told them the details of her mission prior leaving. She promised herself she would write a letter to them as soon as she reached the sand village.

Stepping out into the sun, she noticed Naruto had finally gotten up after being slammed into the cliff and was now running towards her. He stopped right in front of the pink-haired kunoichi and panted with his hands clutched over his knees, his head bent as well.

"Sakura-chan! Wow it's been a while", Naruto grinned cheekily after catching his breath.

"Naruto-kun, it's so good to see you again", she replied with the same enthusiasm. "But what was the deal with you trying to jump through my window?"

"Ehh… well I wasn't doin' anything perverted", Naruto said rather sheepishly. He saw the stern look on Sakura face and his smile disappeared. "Honest Sakura-chan! I would never do that. Jeez only pervs' like Ero-sennin would do something like that. I was just so happy to see you."

Sakura smiled at her friend's honesty and saw that he really hadn't changed much personality wise. However he did grow a couple of inches, surpassing her in height. His voice had deepened as well. She stretched out her hands to give him a welcoming hug yet stopped when she noticed something off about him. Crinkling her nose, she stared at the unpleasant brown stains which now hung on his black and orange suit.

"Naruto… what is that all over you?" Sakura pointed out as if it were obvious.

"Oh… yeah I landed into something after you threw that sucker punch. Thanks to that, I wasn't badly hurt." he replied while rubbing the back of his head from embarrassment. He did not notice the disturbed look Sakura was giving him. She had a feeling the jagged cliff was the ideal spot for Akamaru to do his usual business.

"Anyway, where did you learn to hit like that? Man it reminded me of that punch I took when I first met Tsunade baa-chan", the blonde ninja grimaced at one of his least fondest memories.

"Bingo! It's a long story Naruto… I'll tell you all about it later okay?"

"Hey how about you tell me everything that's been going on in Konohagakure since I was gone. I'm starving so let's go to Ichiraku Ramen Bar and talk there. My treat", he asked her and his stomach grumbled in anticipation.

"I can't Naruto! I have an urgent mission in the Sand Village and I don't have much time." Sakura was ready to bid farewell to her team mate but he interrupted her.

"Alright then, at least take these for your trip." He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a couple Ichiraku special instant ramen packages. Sakura took them from him smiling gratefully.

"Hey Sakura-chan, don't worry about Sasuke… I'll find that Orochi- bastard and beat the shit outta' him for taking our team-mate away from us."

Naruto immediately stopped talking when he saw Sakura's eyes glisten. "Uhh… I'll get Sasuke back here safe and sound. Even if it means I gotta' break a limb or two. At least this time he won't be able to go anywhere", he joked.

Sakura smiled at her friend's attempt to cheer her up and wiped the formed tears from her eyes. "Don't worry about it either. I trust you Naruto… take care then, I'll see you in a week or so."

They quickly exchanged their goodbyes and Sakura was well on her way on the path which will lead her to Sunagakure. The kunoichi kept a fast pace on the ground as well on the trees. She had to make up for lost time and was willing to quicken her pace as well as give up some of her breaks along the way. Before she knew it, the sun began to wane and it was replaced by darkened clouds.

Night had fallen and it was not safe to travel alone without any companions. Sakura thought she could use a few hours to rest a bit before continuing her journey. Without venturing too far, Sakura managed to gather a few pieces of wood to start a small campfire. She then collected water inside a portable pot from a nearby river and began to cook a package of instant ramen. While the noodles cooked, Sakura used that time to set up her sleeping bag close to the fire. When dinner was ready, she ate it hungrily while savouring the taste that only Ichiraku Ramen Bar can produce.

Soon afterwards, Sakura decided it was time to call it a night. She made a move towards her sleeping bag but stopped in her tracks when her ears picked up twigs being snapped in half. She quickly turned around and saw three dark figures moving towards her. Leaves rustled against their long cloaks and Sakura could only managed to make out what seemed to be a head protector on each of their heads. 'Ninjas' she silently thought and wished she could see their symbols which would help her distinguish them from allies or enemies. Before she could blink her eyes, one of them grabbed her wrist and held it tightly. His metal symbol on his forehead gleamed in her eyes and it was then she noticed a clean slash though it. A Missing-Nin…

An update after nearly four months? I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter… I'm sure some of you are disappointed for not having any of the Akatsuki members introduced yet… but seriously, wouldn't it be weird for them to appear early in the morning, especially in a village which is heavily guarded? Yeah anyway, can you guess who the three mysterious figures are? Is it very obvious… or do you want it to be obvious.. :D Leave me comments on who you guys think they might be.

I want to thank those who have reviewed so far:

JiNi, jess, peeeach, Soankast, Kattunge-chan, Icecream Skittles Addict, AkatsukiDreamer, Fujiwara Yuriko, tsuchikage, HyuugaAngels, Rain, crette, Anna12382, Annaka Uchinni, hakusho14, xxxsakuraxxx, etheralspirit17, Silent Kunoichi aka. Fiona

Now to answer some questions:

Cloudwatchers: Well I've written Itachi/Deidara/Sasori with Sakura in the short summary… but I honestly don't know which couple it's going to be at the end… don't worry, Sakura won't end up with all three. But I think I can honestly say for, Itachi won't be the one in the end… which leaves us with two bachelors left to choose from :D

Aurora Marija: Thanks for your review… and I totally agree with everything you say. It can be very hectic to update almost every week especially when University is fast approaching. Anyway to answer your question. Yes this is before the whole 'Rescue Gaara' arc in the manga. I'm pretending it didn't happen so that my story can flow. Sakura is fifteen years old and hasn't met nor fought with Sasori yet. I'm sorry if it's not clear but this is definitely right after the time skip. I hope you read enjoyed this chapter and I'll upload the next one ASAP.

SweetAssaasin: Awww.. I'm sorry to have burst your bubbles… but nope it wasn't Sakura. Though it would have been funny to have introduced Gaara walking daintily on the sands. Wouldn't that be a pretty sight? LoL I hope you stay tuned though for the next update : )

rebel-girl: hehe sorry to disappoint you, but Sakura will see them soon… LoL can you imagine Sasuke doing graffiti and then trying to jump into Sakura's window?

furryhatlover2543: Actually I don't know why I made her breath like that confuzzled I guess I wanted to make it seem more dramatic, like she was very surprised or something like that.

circles in the streams: Yeah it was kinda' weird for not having Sakura introduced yet… maybe they'll be acquainted in the next chapter? I'm not sure what's in store for Tokiku, but we'll see : )… hehe Konohamaru was a good guess but you're right again, anything is possible. Try to guess who might be the three dark figures :D I was using MS Word for a while but I can't believe it expired right before I was going to write this chapter '… thanks again for your review!

JudgeGooby: you are soo nice!!! I was wondering what kinda' impression my version of Deidara and Sasori left on the readers… hehe but I want them to be more evil though muahaha And of course I don't want you to die!!!

Kakashisninjadogs: awww that's pretty sweet of you :D If it was Sasuke, would he be doing the graffiti on Tsunade's face and then try to jump through Sakura's window while she's changing? Hmm… maybe the new and improved Sasuke would though

Sakura Angel 4eva: Yay we have a winner!! I think you were the only one to guess right that the mysterious person doing the graffiti was Naruto indeed :D I hope you try to guess the next one too…

Itachi4eva: you're such a sweetheart : ) But honestly, I've seen better writers and damn, they can write such great plots! I hope you aren't disappointed anymore though… I'll get the next chapter uploaded as soon as possible :D

So once again please REVIEW… it does really inspire me to continue. I really don't mind constructive criticism… that will help me become a better writer. Though I don't plan on choosing a writing career sweat drops