As Sakura followed the ANBU to the northern gate, she looked out over the rooftops as they went. As she passed Ichiraku and the Yakiniku parlor, Sakura wished she could have stopped to view these places and take photographic memories before she left. As they moved into the distance, she looked onward to face her new challenge. Feeling the cold air as they flew over the houses, she made a silent wish for a quick return.

When they arrived at the gate, Sakura found four other ANBU members waiting for them. When they landed, no one said a word, and they simply surrounded Sakura in defensive positions before taking off out the gates.

How long they were going keep this pace, she did not know. She only knew that it took approximately three days to get to the northern border of Fire country, and being that the eastern coast was relatively the same distance away, she estimated it would take them just a little over three days. Clenching her fists, Sakura shoved the depressing thoughts out of her head to concentrate on the path that lay before her.

The night wore on, and eventually the group came to a halt when the sun first peaked its head above the horizon. Circling a tiny area, they laid down their packs to get some rest.

"One hour," said the leader.

Sakura leaned against the tree. The ANBU that had picked her up went and sat next to her, pulling out his water canteen to take a few gulps. As soon as Sakura had put her head back, sleep overwhelmed her and she was soon dozing off.

As the other ANBU took positions a bit away, they all seemed to be quite awake but resting. The ANBU positioned next to Sakura on the other hand, sat motionless. When he was sure that no one was looking he silently turned his head towards Sakura, and leaned forward to get a closer look at her face. The mask he wore showed nothing of his face except for his black hair protruding from the back, but his eyes were piercing her for some reason.

Sakura's head shifted, but he kept staring. What it was that he wanted was hard to tell. Nobody around them noticed anything, so the moment passed unseen.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Sakura was beginning to think that they had managed to slip past Sasuke unnoticed. She did have one concern though, and that was if Sasuke would end up attacking Konoha while she was gone. When she ran the scenario through her head, she concluded that it just wouldn't be the case.

Sasuke would never attack unless he knew she was there at that moment. There was no sense in attacking and attracting attention without cause. So, Sakura felt a little bit comforted knowing that the chances of the village being attacked was very low, but that still didn't exclude him from attacking any one of her friends to find out where she had gone. That, greatly disturbed her.

After a while, the group could smell the ocean. Slowing to a walk, they looked ahead at the light shining through the trees. They were nearing the shore.

Stepping out of the forest they came upon a small beach. Parked a few yards offshore was a medium sized boat. It was nothing fancy, but Sakura could tell that she was sea-worthy. The wood of the boat creaked as it swayed to the tiny swells. Aboard the ship was a few men, who waved to them when they saw the ANBU masks of Konoha.

The group walked across the beach and to the edge of the shore. As the leader waved to the ship's crew, the ANBU who had watched Sakura before, looked to her again.

"Ready?" the ANBU asked her.

"Mmm..." Sakura nodded. Something was weird. This was the first time out of the whole trip that this particular ANBU had spoken to her, and she looked at him with a quizical brow, wondering where he was from.

The team walked out on the water to get to the boat. As they came aboard, the captain welcomed Sakura with a warm smile.

"So! This is going to be our new village nurse?" he said happily. "Welcome aboard!"

"Arigatou!" said Sakura back to the man. She now felt a little bit better about the whole ordeal. The warm welcome was very reassuring.

As the wind picked up the sail, Sakura went to the front of the boat. Peering over the edge, she felt a little bit happy with this semi-vacation.

"How long will it take to get there?" she asked the captain.

"I would expect two days with the wind on our side."

As the sun began to set on the horizon, that one ANBU member again watched Sakura as the firey light touched her hair. He remained staring at her from the back of the ship, and stayed there until the sun disappeared behind the earth's edge.

The next day passed with nothing but talking. The boat was a fishing vessel, so the crew went about their business, fishing to bring back the day's fare. Sakura did not talk to anyone, but remained at the bow of the boat for most of the trip. She rested her head upon her hands and watched the ocean sweep beneath them. In a way it was nice. Sakura could think about the others back home and what they were doing, instead of thinking only of Itachi and the emptiness in her heart. Sighing, she watched the water turn from blue to gold as the sun had set yet again.

Sakura placed her pack down. Lying down to place her head upon it, Sakura watched the stars. However, she wasn't left alone for long.

The ANBU who kept studying Sakura eventually made his way over to her. Sitting beside her, he began to talk with his eyes staring straight ahead.

"Tsunade-sama told me about you and Itachi..."

Sakura was quite shocked. No one except her friends and the people involved knew about the events that took place. The ANBU continued.

"...If I may ask, why did you choose Itachi?"

The question shocked Sakura even further.

"Why do you ask?" she said.

"It's because...I knew Itachi. What he did was unforgivable. The massacre of the Uchiha Clan is something that will never be forgotten, so what is it about him that made you trust him?"

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was something she would have to face sooner or later. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the stars.

"I trusted Itachi...because I fell in love with him. I'm not sure what happened, but during our journey he changed. He protected me and followed me to wherever trouble took me...he never stopped... and it was his actions that told me he loved me too..."

Turning to the ANBU, she looked at him until he turned to face her.

"...that is why I trust him...I still do."

The ANBU's eyes were blank. He did not say anything else but simply got up and walked away. What he was thinking, Sakura didn't know and didn't care. She knew in her heart that what she had with Itachi was one of the most true things she had in this world, and that was all that mattered.

When it was past noon the next day, the crew began to jitter with excitement as they began to recognize the surrounding coastline. Sakura stood at the edge of the bow, searching the coast for the village.

Apparently they were still a long way off, and as the sun began to set yet again, Sakura finally spotted the village a while away. As she tried to distinguish the outlines of the village through the orange glow of the sun, the ANBU that watched her suddenly appeared by her side, looking out at the village as well.

"You know, even if you trust Itachi, that will never change his past wrong-doings," said the ANBU. "There will always be those who wish to avenge the clan."

The words sounded ominous. Sakura suddenly felt a chill up her spine. Slowly she turned to look at the ANBU. As she stared at the side of his face, her heart began to pound faster and faster. Slowly the ANBU turned his head to face her, and through the holes in his mask, Sakura could see the red tinge of the Sharingan staring back at her.