Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto


Ch. 4: Problems and Returning Home

Jugo was amused. He was being watched like a hawk by Sasuke. The big guy found it very amusing especially because Sasuke wouldn't admit that he was watching Jugo let alone why he was. The pink haired girl was walking beside the large blonde man again. It also amused Jugo that Karin wasn't happy that Sasuke gave the pink haired girl his attention.

"Jugo?" Sakura's voice grabbed his attention.

"Yes?"

"Is...is Sasuke...happy here?"

He looked thoughtful as he considered how to respond. Most of the time, Sasuke certainly wasn't miserable but Jugo would say that the Uchiha was happy either. There were other times, however, when he could see that his friend missed something. Jugo didn't know what it was but he knew that Sasuke would never be happy until he had it back. Finally he answered Sakura's question.

"I don't think he's unhappy but I wouldn't say he was happy either. He seems to be...in an emotional limbo at the moment."

Sakura nodded in understanding. She turned her attention to the boy that she had loved for so long. What could she do to help him? How could she make him smile? These were the questions that flew through her head. Sasuke had always been complicated and that hadn't changed. But Sakura would give anything just to see him smile. She would make him happy even if she had to be miserable to accomplish it.

Karin was suddenly in Sakura's face, "Don't even think about it."

Sakura blinked in confusion, "What?"

"You heard me. Don't go anywhere near Sasuke. He's mine," the red head stated.

The medical nin frowned. Sasuke seemed to be just as annoyed with this girl as he had ever been with his other fan girls. Were they really and item? Sakura supposed it was possible but she wasn't so sure that she could take this girl's word that they were. So she just shrugged at the girl.

"I mean it. If you go anywhere near him I'll..."

She didn't get to finish. Jugo interrupted her, "You'll what, Karin?"

His tone was calm and innocent but the expression in his eyes was anything but. Karin gulped. Jugo didn't have many friends and that made him protective of the few he had. Sakura was his friend. Karin knew that she couldn't touch the girl without suffering Jugo's wrath and she didn't want that. Jugo was stronger that she was and could beat her without trying not to mention he had that split personality thing. His other personality was very bloodthirsty.

"Hey you guys, Sasuke says we're setting up camp right here," Suigetsu said unknowingly breaking up the fight before it began.

"Ok," Sakura said.

She began to set up her bed near Jugo's. Sakura didn't complain about it but Karin and Suigetsu made her nervous. Sasuke and Jugo made her feel safe. Since Sasuke didn't like people bothering him the pink haired girl stayed near Jugo. The blonde guy understood this and didn't say anything about it. She felt someone staring at her and looked over her shoulder. Her emerald eyes met onyx eyes.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun?" she asked in confusion.

"Hn," was his only response and he turned and walked away.

Sasuke didn't say anything but it bothered him that Sakura stayed so close to Jugo. The girl was driving him crazy and she wasn't even trying. She still smiled at him but she didn't go near him. It also bothered him that she didn't talk to him as much as she use to. He looked around and saw that he was alone so he released an annoyed sigh. Sasuke chose to sleep away from the group tonight. Maybe he would be able to sleep better if she wasn't near him. So he headed back to camp to retrieve his blankets and dinner.

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Sakura watched him leave and wondered what was wrong. She debated on following him to find out but decided not to. He probably didn't want her to. She returned to her task.

It was Karin's turn to cook dinner. She purposely forget to feed Sakura. The green eyed girl never did complain about it. Jugo shook his head. Sakura spent too much time trying not to inconvenience Sasuke in Jugo's humble opinion. She need to complain to their team leader a little more but she never would. He was about to remedy the problem of Karin forgetting to feed her when Sakura spoke to him.

"Jugo, how far are we from Konoha?"

He was about to respond when Karin interrupted, "Why? Thinking of running away or warning them that we're coming?"

Sakura glared at the girl, "No. I just wanted to know."

"Right. I bet you were thinking of running away," the red head said.

"I was not. I would never leave Sasuke-kun."

"He doesn't want you here so you might as well run away," Karin said with venom.

"If I did that he would get in trouble. I would never do that to him," Sakura shouted at the girl.

"I don't see why not. He doesn't care about you and betrayed your village," Suigetsu commented.

"That doesn't matter to me. As long as he's safe and happy I don't care what he does. I'll do whatever I can for him...even if it costs me everything," Sakura said calmly.

"You can't do anything for him. You're use..." Karin started but she didn't get to finish.

This time Jugo interrupted her, "Welcome back, Sasuke. You want some dinner?"

Everyone turned to see Sasuke standing at the edge of the clearing. There was an odd look in his onyx eyes as he looked at the medical nin. Everyone wondered how long he had been standing there. Sakura smiled at him. She picked up a plate from on top of her back and walked over to him. Now he saw that there was food on the plate. She had saved him some food. He looked around and saw that everyone else had eaten. His onyx eyes narrowed when he noticed that there was one less plate than there should be. Jugo, Karin, and Suigetsu all had a plate in their hand but Sasuke didn't see Sakura's plate. His eyes moved back to hers.

"Have you eaten?" he asked her.

She shook her head and Jugo spoke, "I was about to get her something but I got distracted."

Sasuke looked over to the cooking pot. It was empty.

"Why isn't there enough for everyone?" he asked.

No one responded. Karin was glaring at Sakura because she was expecting the girl to tell on her. But Sakura never said a thing. Instead she smiled.

"It's ok, Sasuke-kun. I'll just eat in the morning."

Sasuke looked at her with an unreadable expression as he said, "Yes you will but you'll eat tonight too. Come with me."

Sakura blinked in surprise then obeyed him. He glanced back to make sure she was there and then kept walking.

After the two left no one else said a word for a moment then Suigetsu commented, "Well, this is a new side of the Uchiha."

Karin glared at him.

"What? You have to admit that he does treat her differently." And because he liked to annoy Karin he added, "If that had been you he would have let you starve until morning."

"He would not," Karin shouted at him.

Jugo watched the two of them silently. Suigetsu was right about one thing. Their leader did treat Sakura differently than anyone else. She made him feel. Jugo wasn't sure what she made Sasuke feel. He just knew that she did. All the big man could do was pray that his new friend wouldn't be hurt by Sasuke Uchiha.

---Meanwhile with Sasuke and Sakura---

Sakura was beginning to wonder where they were going. Sasuke only looked back every once and a while. Probably to make sure that she was still there and not falling behind. She was about to asked when he stopped so she walked up beside him instead. There was a village in front of them. It wasn't Konoha but she recognized it. It was about a days travel from her home village.

"Why are we here, Sasuke-kun?"

"You need to eat," he stated.

"Yeah I know that but why are we here?"

He looked at her like she was an idiot then started to walk again. She let out an exasperated sigh and followed. Would it kill him to hold a conversation? Would he die if he gave her a straight answer? She thought about it for a moment then decided it probably would. That would be why he never did either.

Sasuke led her to a small restaurant in the village. She smiled. Now she understood. He was taking her out to eat because there hadn't been enough food cooked for her. He selected a booth in the corner where he could see the rest of the place and no one would be behind him. She sat across from him.

They ordered some food and began to eat. After he finished Sasuke watched her for a moment then asked, "How is everyone in Konoha?"

She smiled at him, "Kakashi is his usual self. Late for everything and the strongest ninja in Konoha. Neji is the only one that became a jonin. Everyone else is a chunin now. Naruto has been training very hard with Jiraiya for the last three years. He just returned a few days ago."

"So that's why Orochimaru couldn't keep track of him."

Sakura nodded then she looked slightly sad and unsure, "You're not going to...to hurt Naruto are you?"

He looked at her for a moment then said, "What if I said yes?"

She drew in a breath and said, "I wouldn't stop you."

Sasuke stared at her with that look in his eyes again then it was gone.

"I won't hurt him. I'm just going to observe."

Sakura let out a relieved sigh. She really wouldn't have stopped Sasuke. She didn't know if she could not because she wasn't strong enough but because she didn't know if she could fight Sasuke. Now that she knew he wasn't going to do anything but watch she relaxed.

She finished eating and the two headed back to camp. When they arrived they saw that the rest of the team was still awake and Sakura's blankets were torn.

"Tell me what happened," Sasuke ordered Jugo.

"I don't know. I left to wash up and when I came back they were like this."

Sasuke looked at the other two. They both looked like they didn't know anymore than Jugo except in Karin's eyes. Her crimson orbs had a smug look in them that gave her away. Since Sasuke couldn't prove what had happened he said nothing to the red head.

"Do we have extra blankets?" he asked the big man.

Jugo shook his head, "No. Sakura can use mine."

"Are you crazy?! It's suppose to be freezing tonight. I'm not taking your blankets, Jugo," Sakura said stubbornly.

"I guess you'll have to freeze then," Karin said.

Suigetsu said thoughtfully, "She could share with someone. Not Jugo though. He's too big. There wouldn't be enough blanket to go around."

Karin glared at him, "You gonna volunteer, Suigetsu, cause she's not sharing with me."

The silver haired man shrugged.

Sakura stepped closer to Sasuke. She hoped she wouldn't have to share with Suigetsu. She was more comfortable around him now but she still didn't wasn't even close to that comfortable.

"She'll stay with me," Sasuke stated.

He wouldn't admit it out loud but he didn't want her to sleep anywhere near any of the other men. He didn't complain about Jugo because he trusted the big man. Suigetsu, however, was an entirely different matter all together. Sasuke didn't trust Suigetsu as far as he could throw the man.

"What do you mean?" Karin asked in disbelief.

"She'll use my blankets," he stated.

Sakura looked at him in exasperation, "I won't let you freeze either."

He smirked, "I won't because I'll be using my blankets too."

The pink haired girl blinked then blushed slightly. After a moment she nodded in agreement. He led the way over to his blankets and the two of them began to settle down. Sakura was careful not to touch him. She didn't think he would appreciated that at all. He had never liked touching of any kind. She didn't think that had changed even after all this time. Still she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

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The next morning Sasuke was the first awake as usual. He shifted to get up but he felt something against him. When he looked down he saw pink. Sakura had snuggled up against him at some point during the night. Not only that but he had wrapped his arms around her. She was gripping his shirt in both her fists and when he moved she snuggled closer to him. He felt the smile tug at his mouth as he watched her sleep. She looked so...peaceful and...beautiful. Wait a minute?! Did he just think that? This was Sakura, his old teammate. This was the same girl that use to annoy him to hell and back. He had always annoyed him. Now here he was thinking she was beautiful. Where had that come from?

He was still watching her sleep when Jugo woke up. The man watched the team leader stare at the girl in his arms with confusion. Jugo let out brief amused smile before hiding it.

"Good morning, Sasuke," he said quietly so he wouldn't wake anyone else.

Sasuke looked at him and nodded.

"She still asleep?"

"Yes."

Silence fell between the two for a moment then Sasuke spoke again, "I want you to keep an eye on her. Make sure that she's taken care of."

"Why don't you do it?"

"It'll make things with Karin worse."

Jugo nodded in understanding then said, "She'll have to share your blankets for a little while longer. We don't have any spares."

Sasuke nodded. He carefully got up so he would wake her up. After making sure she was still covered by the blanket he faced Jugo, "Who cooked dinner last night?"

"Karin."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but then the object of their discussion began to wake up. Karin's crimson eyes looked right at Sasuke. She gave him a seductive smile but, as usual, he didn't show any reaction. Then she glared at the lump that was in Sasuke's blankets. The lump began to stir and then Sakura sat up.

She gave Sasuke a sweet smile, "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke nodded to her while thinking about how odd it was that he reacted more to Sakura's innocent smile that to Karin's seductive one. Was that normal? He wasn't sure. The boy decided to ignore it. It didn't matter anyway.

"Morning, Jugo," Sakura said to the big man.

Jugo smiled at her, "Good morning, Sakura. I have a question for you."

She tilted her head to the side, "What?"

"Do you realize that Sasuke's name is the only one that you add the suffix to?"

She blinked, "No I didn't but now that you mention it you're right."

Suigetsu had woken up by this point and asked, "Why?"

"I don't know. I didn't notice before today," Sakura responded.

"How ridiculous. I bet Sasuke hates it. Don't you Sasuke?" Karin looked to Sasuke for support.

She didn't get it. Sasuke neither confirmed or denied liking the suffix added to the end of his name. The truth was she hadn't referred to him without the suffix since the say she had woken up in the sound village. When she had called him just plain Sasuke he had felt something in him die. He had wanted to here her add the -kun to the end of his name. He had wanted to know that she still cared. When he didn't get it he felt like his heart had been ripped out of him, not that he had a heart anymore. Then she had thanked him for saving her. She had added the suffix to his name and he felt that thing that had died when she hadn't come back to life with a vengeance. Not that he would ever tell anyone this. He barely even admitted it to himself. As far as he was concerned, he didn't feel anything. Only during weak moments did he ever feel a thing for anyone.

Sakura just shrugged, "If he doesn't like it he would just tell me. Sasuke doesn't put up with things he doesn't like for very long. He's probably just indifferent to whether I add the suffix or not."

Jugo had been watching Sasuke very closely throughout the entire conversation and thought, 'How wrong you are, Sakura.'

"Whose turn is it to make breakfast?" Suigetsu asked.

"I think the princess should have to take a turn at cooking. If she can cook that is," Karin stated with a sneer.

Sasuke felt the smirk on his face. Karin was about to get a surprise. Sakura not only could cook but she was one of the best cooks in Konoha along with Ino and Tenten. The boys had all decided that it had something to do with being the only girls on their teams. When team 7 first started training together they had realized that Kakashi and Sasuke couldn't cook anything and the only thing Naruto could cook was ramen. Sakura had been the only one with even a little cooking experience. She soon took over the cooking entirely when it became obvious that the boys weren't going to learn how to make a decent meal anytime soon. Her culinary skills improved greatly from there.

"I don't care who cooks just so long as it's edible," Suigetsu responded to Karin.

Sakura shrugged, "Sure. I'll cook."

"You heard Suigetsu. It better be edible," Karin stated.

"It will be."

Karin just walked off with a huff.

---Meanwhile in Konoha---

Naruto was seriously starting to worry about his teammate. Sakura had been gone for almost three days and there was still no clues about what had happened to her. They had run out of ideas. Every time they searched there was nothing. Not even a hint.

"Ugh, this is driving me crazy," he said out loud. "What could have happened to her?"

Kakashi glanced at Naruto, "I don't know, Naruto."

"She couldn't have just vanished into thin air. There has to be something we're missing," Naruto said.

Ino looked over at the blonde then to Hinata. The shy kunoichi was looking at the table with sadness in her silver eyes. Ino knew that Hinata was in love with the fox boy. She couldn't understand why but that was just the way it was. It was hurting Hinata to know that Naruto cared for Sakura and not her but the girl would do anything to help Naruto. So she helped him search.

"Hey Naruto, just out of curiosity, do you still love Sakura?" Ino asked praying that he would give the right answer.

Naruto blinked then smiled, "Yeah..."

Ino wanted to hit him and Hinata looked like she was going to cry. Then he continued.

"But not like I use to. She's more of a sister to me now."

Ino let out sigh of relief. Maybe now Hinata would stop looking so dejected. Hinata looked up at Naruto with hope. Ino smiled. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He knew his girlfriend was playing matchmaker. It was a disease she was born with. The need to hook everyone up.

"Back on topic," Kakashi began, "what else can we do? Everyone in the village has searched everywhere and we even asked Suna to keep an eye out for her."

No one said anything. They were running out of ideas.

"Maybe we need to take a break," Shikamaru said. "We've been searching non stop for almost three days."

"You're just saying that so that you can be a lazy ass," Naruto said.

"He has a point, Naruto. We need to rest," Tenten stated.

Naruto seemed to want to argue but then he sighed in defeat, "You're right. I just..."

"We know, Naruto. We all care about Sakura but we have to rest and then maybe something will come to us," Neji said.

Everyone began to leave. Ino then noticed that Hinata was about to walk home by herself in the dark. The blonde girl grinned and walked over to Naruto.

"Hey Naruto."

"What is it, Ino?" he asked her.

"Will you walk Hinata home? Neji is walking Tenten home so she doesn't have anyone to walk with her. I'm also worried because it's dark outside."

Naruto looked over at the dark haired girl and saw that Ino was right. He smiled, "Sure. Does she know you're asking me?"

"No and it would be less complicated if you just pretend it was your idea."

"Alright then. I'll see ya tomorrow, Ino," Naruto headed over to Hinata with a wave over his shoulder to the mind manipulator. He shouted to the shy girl, "Hey Hinata wait up. I'll walk ya home."

Hinata turned around when she heard her name. She saw Naruto coming and then registered what he had said. She felt the blush on her cheeks. He wanted to walk her home. This had to be a dream. She waited on him to catch up. He grinned at her when he did.

"I didn't want you to walk home by yourself in the dark. Is it ok if I walk with you?"

She smiled shyly at him, "Umm, s..sure Naruto-kun."

He smiled at her and then the two began to walk together towards her house.

----Back with Team Snake---

They had arrived. Sasuke looked at the village he had left behind three years ago. A wave of homesickness washed over him but he ruthlessly shoved it aside. He had made his choice and he would stick with it. He glanced at Sakura. She was smiling sadly at the village below.

"Are you ok?" Jugo asked his friend.

She looked up at him, "I'm fine. It's just that I miss home."

"Do you want to go back?" he asked.

Sakura thought about it for a moment then said, "No. No I don't. I happy here with Sasuke-kun. I just wish that I could see my old friends. It's not the place I miss really. It's them. I'll survive though."

Sasuke looked away. How could she feel that way? How could it be ok with her never to return home as long as she was with him? It didn't make any sense. The Uchiha was beginning to think that she would never make any sense to him. He again shoved the thoughts away before he got side tracked.

Sasuke gave the orders, "Don't let them see us. We're not here to fight just gather information on Naruto Uzumaki. Understood...Good. Sakura you're staying with me."

Sakura nodded and walked over to him. The others left except for Karin. She glared at Sakura then faced Sasuke.

"Why is she staying with you?" she demanded.

"Because Jugo has a hard enough time hiding himself without her."

"So why isn't she with me or Suigetsu?"

"Because Suigetsu might scare her into revealing them and I can't trust you with her safety."

Karin blinked and then left with a sulk. She seriously didn't like that Sakura girl. What made her so special that Sasuke wanted to keep her safe? He didn't even know the girl before she joined their team. So why was he do damn protective of her? Karin wanted to kill that girl and if she gave her a reason she would. Then that stupid pink haired thing would be out of the way and Karin could have Sasuke all to herself. Karin gave an evil grin. Yes, Sasuke would be all hers.

After Karin had left Sakura looked over to Sasuke to see where he would go. When he headed off she followed. All they had to do to stay hidden was to avoid Kakashi's sharingan eye and the Hyuga clan's byakugan. Kakashi was easy. Unless he was seriously fighting his sharingan would be covered by his headband and the Hyuga clan's byakugan was the same principle. So they avoided the training areas. There problem solved. Ok, not really. They were there to watch Naruto right. Well, Naruto was in the training grounds with Kakashi and the two of them were training for all they were worth. Kakashi even had his sharingan uncovered.

Sasuke and Sakura were constantly dodging so that he couldn't see them with that eye. Not to mention they hadn't consider Naruto's fox demon abilities. When he tapped into his fox chakra his senses increased along with his strength and speed. This included his sense of smell. If they weren't careful he would be able to smell them.

The two soon stopped fighting and sat to rest. Sasuke was impressed with how strong Naruto had become. The idiot had definitely improved since the last time Sasuke had seen him. He wondered briefly if he could still beat him.

Naruto hadn't changed much. His blonde hair was still in that spiked style though it was longer that it was. The clothes he wore were still mostly orange. The blue eyes still had that 'happy go lucky' look in them even if it was overshadowed by worry.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?"

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Do you think Sakura is alright?"

Kakashi sighed, "I can't answer that. Sakura is a strong girl. I doubt that someone was able to kill her. If they had even tried there would be evidence of it. All we found was her battle with that sound nin."

"Do you think she's been kidnapped?"

"Yes I do."

"I thought so too," Naruto said. "In a way that's good news."

Kakashi looked interested, "How so?"

"Well, if they kidnapped her she's alive because they needed her for something, right?"

"I hadn't thought of that. I guess you are right."

The two ninjas stood up and began to walk back to the village. Sasuke and Sakura followed silently. Sakura saw it. Kakashi looked back. He had looked directly at them. She reached out and grabbed Sasuke's arm to stop him. He glanced at her in confusion but stopped. When the other two were out of ear shot she whispered, "He knows where here."

"Kakashi?"

She nodded.

Sasuke shook his head, "I should have known he would sense us. Damn Orochimaru. He knows no one can sneak up on Kakashi easily. It takes more skill than most ninja have let alone us."

Sakura nodded. She had seen many people try to sneak up on Kakashi but it never worked. What made Orochimaru think that any of them could. Sasuke sat there and debated on what to do. The first thing was get out of this spot. Kakashi was sure to double back to see who they were. He motioned for Sakura to follow. She did without question.

They were almost to the edge of the training areas when Sasuke suddenly grabbed Sakura and jumped backward. He turned around and kept Sakura behind him. Standing in front of him was Kakashi, Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, and Tsunade. They all looked at him in shock. Naruto was the first one to speak.

The blond spoke in a low disbelieving whisper, "Sasuke, you took Sakura?"


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