Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Silent Sacrifice Chapter 1: Vivid Abduction

Haruno Sakura didn't have the faintest idea that anything would happen that night. She had just finished up a long day at the hospital—three jonin had returned from a mission gone horribly wrong—and was wearily walking home, her shoulders hunched and her face withdrawn.

She wandered a bit, too tired to fully grasp where she was going. There weren't a lot of people out, and it was as quiet as it ever got in Konoha.

She smiled weakly to herself, thinking, I really need to stop pushing myself so hard.

After all, Sakura had only been training under Tsunade for two and a half years, though her strict-but-caring mentor deemed her as the best medic, not counting the Hokage herself.

Sakura came across a seemingly empty street, and she sat down on the steps leading up to a house, putting her head on her arm.

I think I'll just rest here for a while, she thought, drained of energy. Her eyes closed, and she slowly fell into a light slumber.

But then she heard footsteps.

Her head snapped up, and she scanned the surrounding area with her eyes as her heightened senses kicked in. She looked deeper into the shadows, about to ask who was there, when her breath caught in her throat.

It was—

No. Sakura chided herself for even thinking that. He would never come back, not as long as he had his desire for revenge.

But the man who appeared from the shadows looked so much like her old teammate that she just had to make sure.

"Sasuke?" she asked tentatively.

The man's head whipped towards her; apparently he hadn't noticed she was there. She carefully stood up to get a better look at his face (though the top half of it was covered in shadows)…and sighed inwardly as she realized that it indeed was not him.

Then she tensed as she recognized the man. She remembered that straight black hair, hair that no one else in the Akatsuki had. And he was Akatsuki, of course, given from the long black robe with red, swirling clouds on it that he wore. Not to mention the Hidden Leaf Village hitai-ate that had the leaf in the middle crossed out with a deeply etched lined.

What on earth was he doing there?

She was determined to find out.

So she plastered her widest smile on her face and took a step forward. "I'm sorry, but you look awfully like a person I"—she paused and swallowed—"like a person I used to know."

He merely continued to look at her, his face showing absolutely no emotion.

Sakura's smile dimmed a little.

"I've never seen you around here before," she continued. "I'm Haruno Sakura. Do you need help getting around?"

The man's eyes narrowed almost unnoticeably. He remembered someone by that name, and he knew he had seen that pink hair somewhere before. "You called me Sasuke," he stated flatly. "Do you know him?"

It was Sakura's turn to be suspicious. "I used to know him," she offered, not giving him any information that could benefit him.

He didn't tolerate that. "How so?" he asked, his voice smooth.

Then he took a step out of the shadows, and Sakura saw the Sharingan in his eyes.

A small flame of fury sparked within her. This was the man who had driven Sasuke crazy with revenge, who had made him go to Orochimaru for power. This was the man who had ruined Sasuke's life.

Sakura hated him. That was what she knew for sure.

She kept her gaze locked on his neck so as not to be caught by the Sharingan. "I used to be his teammate," she murmured.

Ah, Itachi thought, so this was Sasuke's old teammate. That also meant she was Uzumaki Naruto's teammate. Itachi had only come to remind the council members once again that Sasuke was not to be harmed, but now he saw an opening to claim what Akatsuki was after. The Kyuubi could easily be theirs with this girl's help.

"I actually do believe you could help me," Itachi said. "I am looking for Uzumaki Naruto. Do you know where he is?"

Sakura risked looking into his eyes and was relieved to find that although the Sharingan was still active, she didn't sense that he was using it on her.

She cleared her throat. "He's out on a mission at the moment," she lied. "But I can certainly tell him you were here. Who are you, may I ask?"

Her eyes were calculating, seeing if he would actually answer her.

He remained silent.

"Huh, you really are just like Sasuke…Uchiha Itachi," she spat out, her voice harsh. "Always quiet, observing and learning, only speaking when needed."

The S-class criminal didn't even seem surprised.

"You had better get out of here," she growled, the fury now evident, "before I scream and alert the whole village."

Suddenly he was behind her, two of his fingers pressed lightly against her neck. He could easily break my neck with those two fingers, she realized.

"And why would you do that?" His voice seemed to never change; it was always flat and unwavering.

Her teeth clenched together. I need to get him away from my neck. Then I can see if there's an opening for an attack.

Sakura quickly dropped to the ground, and, spinning, she aimed a chakra-induced kick at his left leg. As she did so, she shrieked, "Because you hurt Sasuke!"

But Itachi wasn't there anymore.

The good thing was that it didn't surprise her. She knew he would be fast; after all, he was related to Sasuke.

As she spun she did a few quick hand seals and two more Sakuras appeared beside her. Together they charged Itachi, who was now in front of them.

He merely watched, knowing she wouldn't be able to touch him.

I need to get him out of the village, Sakura thought. I can't risk the damage of my strength.

Using her arms as a sling shot, Sakura flung her clones at the unmoving enemy. The clones held up their kunai and stabbed Itachi in both of his arms. Even before "Itachi" blew up in a puff of smoke and a log took his place, Sakura knew it was a substitution: he wouldn't have let her clones get him so easily.

All right, so where is he now?

She didn't have time to figure that out. Now she needed to get away from the village, she needed to draw Itachi away.

Sakura and her clones sprinted toward the surrounding trees. She hoped that Itachi was following her, and not going after the villagers.

Just to make sure, she said something that would—hopefully—push his buttons. "You don't know how much Sasuke really hates you!" she called into the darkness. "He won't stop until he kills you and gets his revenge!"

She had reached the edge of the forest and saw a flash of black before Itachi was upon her.

He flew in from above and Sakura blocked his kunai with her own, the sound of clashing metal filling the air. She used the force of the contact to propel herself backwards in the air, her arms and legs spread out to keep her balanced as she skidded to a stop.

They were about twenty feet apart; she had her back to the village while he was facing it.

Perfect, she thought.

Then she focused her chakra to her hand and drove it straight into the ground.

Itachi didn't have the slightest warning. He had no idea why she would want to punch the floor, so the sight of the ground cracking and the trees falling was quite a shock to him.

He barely had time to jump in the air before getting caught in the aftermath, and even then the girl's two clones followed him from the stubble, a chakra scalpel flaring in each of their hands.

Itachi moved just in time to avoid being cut at his waist, but in the air even he couldn't react quick enough, and he hissed fiercely as one scalpel cut deep into his ankle.

After a few quick hand seals he landed and burst the clones to smoke with his Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu.

Sakura stood, panting mildly—she was still suffering from the effects of the day's healing, but at least she had hit him.

She looked up at Itachi, a challenge in her gaze…and fell right into the Mangekyou Sharingan. Before she could get fully pulled in, she silently cursed herself for being so dumb.

The world he showed her using Tsukuyomi was nothing but black, white, and red. She stood against a tree—was strapped against it, more specifically—in the middle of a bleak, lifeless forest.

Suddenly a kunai came flying right at her…and she could do nothing to stop it. She barely let out a whimper, though, when it pierced her right in the stomach. Once that one hit, a barrage of others followed. They kept coming, piercing her all over.

To block out the pain she set her mind to the task of finding and showing her everything that had ever made her happy. Instantly a picture of Team 7 was thrown at her, but with the happiness came betrayal, and that led to pain…she could not let herself think of that right now.

Sakura instructed her mind to find more recent things, and she saw Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi smiling, waiting for her so that they could go eat some ramen. She inwardly laughed and ran to them, surrounded by the comfort of her teammates.

And that was how Sakura survived the Mangekyou Sharingan without feeling one ounce of pain.

Itachi did not know what to think of it. Even as the girl was being constantly hit by his kunai, she never once flinched nor cried out. She almost appeared to be asleep, so content her expression was.

Itachi racked his brain for more methods of torture, weeding out the physical ones…and then it came to him.

He changed the world that this pink-haired girl was trapped in, and instead placed her on a battlefield. Sitting back, he watched as she looked about with a confused expression.

Sakura saw two large groups of people rushing toward each other, and she was standing right in the middle. Both groups were yelling madly at the other, and when they finally met, the sound of ricocheting metal pounded through the air. The people passed through Sakura as if she were a ghost, and they didn't even seem to notice her.

Then a hitai-ate fell right at her feet. It was from the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The body of Hatake Kakashi followed suit. His eyes were open and staring, lifeless; the Sharingan was a dull red.

Now Sakura screamed. She screamed when she saw Naruto running up, his Rasengan flaring, towards an oncoming Sasuke.

"Stop it, Naruto!" she cried as they met right in front of her. "Sasuke, don't!"

Naruto's fierce expression faded to one of complete astonishment when Sasuke's Chidori cut through his stomach.

Tears were running down Sakura's face in rivers. She couldn't help it. The tears only increased as Sasuke started laughing. As Naruto's dead body fell before him, he laughed.

Sasuke stopped his insane chuckling to turn towards her.

Sakura trembled at the sight of his curse seal spreading across his skin. The Sharingan spun wildly as he approached her.

"Sakura," Sasuke whispered. She tried to take a step back, but found that she couldn't.

"Sakura, why won't you save me?" he said in a pained voice. "Why did you let me become like this?"

Sakura shook her head, the tears flying. "I—I tried…Sasuke."

"Sakura, save me." He took another step forward.

Sakura's head snapped up. "No! Stay back! You're not real!" Determination filled her, determination not to be fooled by Itachi's games.

Meanwhile, an idea was forming in Itachi's mind; an idea that would help him immensely with his plans.

To see if that idea was actually possible, he allowed Sakura to move, and removed the curse seal from "Sasuke's" skin. "Sasuke" slumped to the ground.

Sakura couldn't help it. She caught her old teammate as he fell. "Sasuke?" He didn't seem to be conscious. Tears lined her eyes.

She screamed into the empty, blood-scented air, "Why are you doing this to me?"

Only his voice replied, "What if I told you that you could save Sasuke? Would you be willing to try?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke, who was in her arms. His eyes were closed and blood was on his face, but he seemed almost…peaceful. What if she could bring him back to Konoha?

"What are the conditions?" she called warily.

Itachi knew then that she would agree. By asking, she was curious. And coming from such a weak-willed girl like she seemed to be, he could easily persuade her further.

His plan became even more complex, yet somehow easier. Well, easier for him, at least.

"You would have to come with me," Itachi said.

Sakura took a deep breath and clutched Sasuke's body closer to her. Even if he wasn't real, she still took some comfort in his nearness. You're pathetic, she told herself.

Sakura tossed the idea around in her mind. Would she really leave her village to retrieve a missing-nin? But that was the problem. To her, he wasn't just a missing-nin.

So, would she risk trying to save him?

"I'll do it," she said, lifting her head up. Itachi was now before her, and they were back in the forest surrounding Konoha. Sasuke was no longer in her arms.

"Good." Itachi tilted his head to the village. "However, if you come with me, we will have to make it look as if you were kidnapped. That is, unless you want to be accounted for as a rogue?"

"No, no," she stuttered, barely believing what she was doing. Running off with an S-class criminal… "I have an idea so it'll look like I was abducted by you."

He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I'll spike my chakra," she said, clearing her throat. "And then, when whoever comes gets here, we'll act like we're fighting. You can catch me, say a few convincing words, and we'll transport out of here."

Itachi didn't see anything wrong with that. "Go ahead, then."

Sakura flared her chakra noticeably, adding on a frightened edge that wasn't hard to come up with, considering the circumstance she was in.

Itachi came up behind her and held up his kunai. "Shall we?"

She turned around, trembling slightly, and they battled weakly until a fairly recognizable chakra signature came towards them.

The Hokage herself appeared from between the trees, saying in her rough voice, "Now, Sakura, what in the world could you possibly need me for at this hour…" Tsunade finally noticed that her student was locked in a battle with none other than Uchiha Itachi. She swore profusely.

Sakura did a very good job at looking scared—tears were clearly in her eyes, and her voice wavered—when she called, "Ts-Tsunade-sama!"

"Sakura, hang on!" the Hokage yelled, slitting her thumb and making a few quick hand seals. She was about to perform a summoning jutsu when Itachi grabbed Sakura from behind (none too kindly) and held his kunai against her throat.

"Do not make any moves or the girl dies," he stated calmly.

Sakura gulped. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea…

The Hokage instantly stopped, her eyes narrowed.

"Now, we are going to leave," Itachi continued, "and if I sense even the slightest bit that you or anyone else is following us, I will kill her."

"Listen to him, please, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura called, her voice choking. "I don't want you to get hurt!"

The Hokage snorted. "You honestly think that I would get hurt? Come on, have a little more faith in your Hokage!"

But even she grew wary. The Uchiha's eyes were unclear and merciless… She shivered inwardly. Of all people for Sakura to be captured by, why him?

Tsunade tried to flare her chakra to summon help, but Itachi pressed the blade deeper into Sakura's skin. Her student flinched.

"Don't even try it," Itachi warned.

And they disappeared in a ball of smoke.

"Sakura!" Tsunade yelled, but her student was already gone.

Just to make the moment less pressing, Tsunade swore again. Then she ran back to the village, grabbed Hatake Kakashi out of his bed, and dragged the half-asleep jonin to her office.

"You must've woken me up at this hour for something important," the lazy, silver-haired man drawled once they had gotten there. "What is it?"

The Hokage was pacing back and forth across her office, again cursing Shizune for hiding her sake. She glanced out the window, swore, and slammed her hands down on her desk.

"Sakura was kidnapped," she said roughly, and went back to her pacing.

Kakashi waited for the Hokage to continue, and, realizing that she wouldn't, asked slowly, "By who?"

The Hokage put her fist against the wall, her teeth gnashing together as she growled, "By Uchiha Itachi, that's who."

Kakashi sat up straighter.

Uchiha Itachi…had kidnapped Sakura?

"That's not good," he stated blandly. In his mind he was already out in the forest, tracking them. "Why didn't you stop him?"

Tsunade whipped around and glared savagely at him. "Because he already had a blade pressed to her neck and would've killed her had I come any closer!"

Kakashi stood up and stretched his arms out lazily, while inside he was nearly screaming. "Well, we might as well go after them, shouldn't we?"

"It's not that easy!" the Hokage burst out. "If we go after them and he senses us, then he'll kill her. But if we don't…"

"She's as good as dead," he pointed out, itching to get moving. "So why don't you assign me a team and we'll get Sakura back without letting him notice us?"

The Hokage rubbed her temples, muttering under her breath. "If I do assign you a team, you'll have to stay hidden," she instructed, her frantic pacing coming to an end as her leadership instincts took over. "And if you lose his trail, you are to report straight back to me. Do not try to keep going after them."

"Understood," Kakashi replied. "So who am I going with?" He already had a list in mind, but she was the Hokage, after all…

"Are you crazy?" she yelled. "You know the shinobi better, you know what you need to go against Itachi. Why are you asking me?"

That was why Kakashi liked the Hokage so much.

"All right, then," Kakashi said, pleased. "I'll take Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, and Uzumaki Naruto."

Tsunade looked at the jonin. "Naruto? Are you sure? He's not exactly the most noiseless person in the world."

Kakashi glanced back at her as he began to exit the room. "He'll be quiet if it helps get Sakura back."

The Hokage nodded.

Kakashi paused. "Are we to make this public?"

"Absolutely not," she replied, shaking her head. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

Tsunade turned around and gazed out at the village below. "If we let the village know, too many people will want to go after her, and I'm not willing to risk so many lives."

The jonin nodded, and stepped out.

"Naruto! Naruto, get up; we have a mission."

The blonde grumbled and turned over in his bed.

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, if you get up, I'll treat you at Ichiraku's for the rest of the week."

Naruto bolted upright, smiling from ear to ear. "What was that you said about a mission, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, scratching his head.

Kakashi threw some clothes at his former student. "Hurry up and get dressed, Naruto. We need to leave in two minutes."

Naruto grew sober at the jonin's unusually harsh tone, but he got dressed quickly. "What's the matter, Kakashi-sensei? Did something happen?"

The silver-haired man glanced at him. "Sakura was kidnapped by Uchiha Itachi," he explained flatly.

Naruto froze.

"Wha-what did you just say, Kakashi-sen—" the blonde stuttered.

"I said, Sakura was kidnapped by Uchiha Itachi." Kakashi's voice was steadily rising. "And if we don't leave right now, we can already consider her gone."

Naruto forced himself to get up and walk out of the apartment. Below, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba were already waiting.

Kakashi followed behind him, and together they set off at a sprint through the forest, Kiba following the scent at the lead.

Kakashi looked at his former student, shaken a little by his silence. Then he noticed the flare of rage in the blonde's eyes, and he focused back on the path before him.

"So, where are we going?" Sakura questioned Itachi as they hopped from tree branch to tree branch.

"To the Earth Country, or at least somewhere close to it," he replied, scanning the area ahead of them.

"Why?"

Itachi wished she would be quiet. "Because we need to lead the Konoha-nin away, and I have a few connections so we can stay in a village near there."

She nodded.

Itachi noticed a large black form steadily growing closer to them. "Kisame, you're late," he stated.

The bulky man appeared from between the trees and fell in step with them. "I'm so very sorry, Itachi," Kisame said in his smooth, lilting voice. Then he noticed Sakura—who was staring at him with wide eyes—and inclined his head in her direction. "Who's the girl?"

Sakura stiffened.

Itachi sighed and said, with deliberate slowness, "She is my new apprentice."

Naruto was about ready to burst with anticipation. He could not wait to get his hands around that jerk's neck and squeeze the life out of him for kidnapping Sakura.

His hands started to tremble, but he tried to suppress his anger. In no way would it help get Sakura back.

"I'm sorry, guys, but we lost them," Kiba called from up ahead. They all stopped running. "Itachi must've used some sort of concealing jutsu, 'cause their scent just fell flat right here."

"What?" Naruto yelled. His whole body started to shake, and his vision blurred. "Can't Akamaru see through a concealing jutsu?"

Kiba checked with his large, fluffy companion, and the dog barked sadly. Kiba glanced up. "Not through one this strong."

Naruto turned to Neji. "What about you? Can't you sense them with your Byakugan?"

The Hyuuga merely shook his head. "They are far gone."

"Kakashi-sensei, what about your tracking dogs?"

The silver-haired man sighed. "Itachi knows about my dogs. He would especially be aware of them."

Naruto growled, and his body vibrated even more. Kakashi placed a hand on his former student's shoulder. Almost instantly the blonde calmed down, staring at the ground as if he were about to be reprimanded.

"Naruto, we'll get Sakura back," Kakashi said reassuringly. "You don't need to worry."

Naruto glanced up at his old sensei, his eyes wide with surprise. "How can you expect me not to worry?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Honestly, I can't." He looked back at his team. They were all waiting patiently, ready to receive Kakashi's orders. Shikamaru nodded slightly in the jonin's direction. He knew what they had to do now.

Kakashi hated this. At that moment all he wanted to do was go after Itachi, and if even he felt it that strongly, he could not imagine what Naruto was going through. The bond between a student and teacher were different than those of two teammates.

Kakashi wanted to go on, but he was not stupid. He couldn't risk so many lives for one person, even if that person was one he cared about. Uchiha Itachi was just too dangerous.

"All right, let's head back, then," the jonin ordered, not looking at Naruto. "We have a failed mission to report to the Hokage."

Naruto's mouth fell open. "But Kakashi-sensei, we have to go after them! Are you really gonna let them get away?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Kakashi said blandly, "but it's just too risky. Besides, the Hokage specifically ordered that if we lost their trail, we were to report back to her."

"I don't care!" the blonde yelled. "We have to save Sakura-chan!" He took a step in the direction of the scent that they'd been following, as if to show that he would go against the Hokage's orders.

"Naruto, even you know that going on won't help at all. He would kill her if he sensed us," Kakashi said, his voice stern.

Naruto backed up, his teeth and hands clenched fiercely.

Kakashi really, truly hated this.

"I'm your what?" Sakura squeaked, her voice high-pitched with surprise.

Kisame himself was shocked, though he didn't show it. What could the Uchiha want with this weak, pink-haired girl?

"I will explain later," Itachi said. "For now, let's focus on getting away from the Hidden Leaf Village."

Sakura halted in her tracks, her eyes wild with fright. "No! I will absolutely not be your apprentice—I'm going back." She headed off in the opposite direction at a sprint.

But Itachi had already beaten her to it. Silently he came up behind Sakura and knocked her out cold with a mere flick of his hand.

Kisame noted how Itachi caught the girl before she could fall. With any other person, he would have let them hit the ground out of amusement. In just that one simple move, Kisame realized that Itachi must have big plans for her.

"So what are you going to use her for?" Kisame asked once they got moving again; Itachi had Sakura in his arms.

"She will be the new vessel for the Fujin na Tora Seishin," Itachi explained mildly.

Kisame was taken aback. "What good is that old Spirit? Many of people have tried to draw on its power but it always refuses."

Itachi nodded vaguely. "It has gained the reputation of a weak Spirit, but that is because not many people know of its priorities. It is…kind, so to speak."

"Explain." Kisame was curious. They already had the Tigress Spirit sealed, but it had refused to let either Itachi or Kisame be its host. When asked why, it had responded that they were too selfish in wanting power—they would use it for their own good and no one else's, and so the Spirit wanted nothing to do with them.

"I challenged the girl a bit while using the Mangekyou Sharingan on her," Itachi said. "She didn't seem to mind when dozens of kunai were being thrown at her, but once I portrayed her loved ones being slaughtered, she acted like her world had just burned to pieces."

"So she's a soft one," Kisame mused.

"Exactly. And I think that her…rather compassionate nature will appeal to the Fujin na Tora Seishin, so she might be able to harness its power."

"But why do we need a vessel for the Spirit? The girl might rebel against us," Kisame pointed out.

The Uchiha had no obligation to share the full intentions of his plan. Instead he lied smoothly, "I do not know how long I will be able to keep the Spirit under control, so it would be better to get it a host and to train that host to use the Spirit's power under my command."

"Yes, but what if the girl rebels—"

"I will take care of that," Itachi cut in sharply. "You do not need to meddle with my plans."

Kisame glanced warily at the other man, but remained silent otherwise.

Kakashi and Naruto walked quietly into the Hokage's office, as if not to disturb the already impenetrable stillness of the room.

Tsunade stood looking out at the village. She didn't acknowledge their entrance; instead she murmured, "You didn't get her back, did you?"

"It was a failed mission," Kakashi agreed bleakly.

"No, the mission was not a failure," the Hokage argued, turning to face them with a stern expression. "As long as none of you continued to go after Sakura, you have done nothing wrong. And I take it none of your team did go after her, right, Kakashi?" She looked purposefully at Naruto.

"None of them did go after her…" Kakashi, too, looked at Naruto. "But one sure did try."

Naruto wasn't paying attention to either of the two. He continued to look at the ground, his fists clenched into tight balls and his eyebrows drawn together.

"Tsunade-sama…"

The Hokage's lips turned sideways in a smirk at hearing the blonde—for once—address her formally rather than as "-baachan."

"…you have to let me go after her!" Naruto growled. "I'll do anything it takes to get Sakura-chan back."

Tsunade was already shaking her head. "The consequences of going after her are severe, Naruto—"

"I'm strong enough to fight him, Tsunade-baachan," Naruto insisted forcefully. "You don't have to send anyone else."

"It would be suicide!" the Hokage shouted, her gold eyes flaring. "He's an S-class criminal, not to mention he always has his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, with him. And if you think I would send the Kyuubi right into Akatsuki's hands, then you must be crazy."

Naruto was trembling so much that his form became blurry. "This isn't about me, this is about Sakura-chan—"

"What would happen if you got caught?" The Hokage was furious, though she knew she had no right to take it out on Naruto. "We would have lost Sakura and made the Akatsuki stronger at the same time."

"Naruto, she's right," Kakashi said calmly. "You just have to let it go."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Didn't they understand? Didn't they realize that he had to go after Sakura, because if he couldn't get her back…then he would have lost both of his best friends. The two most important people in the world would be gone.

And he did not think he could live with that.

Having one gone was bad enough…but then again, he'd always had Sakura to make up for it. She might not have been able to make the pain fully go away, but she softened the blow immensely. She had always been there to comfort him and make him stronger. If he lost that…

Naruto backed away from the two people in front of him. Tears were freely flowing down his cheeks, although his expression was fierce. "You can't stop me from going. If it means going against your orders—"

"You'll be classified as a missing-nin the moment you walk out those gates," Tsunade stated bluntly. "I'll send my best shinobi to stop you and you'll be dragged back here and thrown in lockdown. Is that what you want? You would really go against your village and willingly be labeled a traitor?"

Naruto bent his head down in defeat. He watched as his tears fell and created their own little puddles of despair on the floor.

The Hokage slowly made her way to the blonde in front of her. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and he stiffened before meeting her steady gaze.

"I want to go after her just as bad as you do," she said softly. "But it's just too dangerous."

Naruto nodded slowly and turned to leave the room.

"Naruto?" the Hokage called.

He paused.

"Please don't make me have to secure you to keep you here. I trust you not to do something so rash."

Naruto merely nodded again and walked out.

Hyuuga Hinata was a light sleeper. She always had been, and she always would be. It fit her personality well, so she didn't really mind, though it was a little annoying at times. At least on missions she was always alert of the slightest sound that passed by.

This was one of those times where it was annoying.

Hinata bolted up in her bed and nervously looked around her room, startled by the sharp tapping sound. She stood up and padded lightly across the floor…and almost fainted with shock when she opened her window and saw Naruto sitting there.

He sat on one of the roofs of the lower buildings, tears rapidly making their way down his cheeks. His eyes were squinted at the edges, and his bottom lip trembled.

Hinata's stomach plummeted. "N-Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed. "What's w-wrong, Naruto-kun? D-did something h-happen?"

Naruto's crystalline blue eyes were full of regret and despair. More tears fell as he choked, "Hinata-chan, I…I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, it's just that—" He broke her gaze and bit his lip to quiet himself.

Hinata reached out—heat filling her cheeks at the close contact—and held Naruto against her. His arms wrapped around her small frame immediately and he clutched her to him in an inescapable grip.

Hinata wasn't sure how to react—she only knew that Naruto was in pain and that she needed to comfort him. So she slowly drew him into her room and sat with him on the bed. He continued to sob quietly, as if he didn't want her to see him like that.

"Naruto-kun, what happened?" she asked softly.

Naruto's face was buried in her neck, so his reply was incoherent.

"W-what was that?"

He pulled back and looked her in the eye, though his face was still crumbled with sorrow.

"Sakura-chan was kidnapped," he said, and buried his face back in her neck. Hinata felt his warm tears on her skin as she was shocked into silence.

Again, she didn't know what to say. She did, however, understand why he was so sad and frightened. Sakura was a person who always brought warmth to other people's lives, who always helped others and never asked for anything back. On top of that, she was strong and determined…just like Naruto.

Hinata considered the pink-haired kunoichi one of her best friends, so she was scared for her. Now she knew why Naruto was acting how he was. And she knew that it was better not to ask any of the questions she was dying to know the answers to.

Hinata clasped Naruto tighter, and they stayed like that until his sobs came to a stop altogether. His grip on her didn't change, and it was only when his breath became even that she, too, allowed herself to sleep.

In the morning of the next day, she was relieved to see him still next to her, his face peaceful in a bliss of ignorance.

Itachi and Kisame traveled quickly, their feet silently carrying them the long distance to the Earth Country. Though Itachi didn't show it, his ankle—the one Sakura had cut with her chakra scalpel—was throbbing immensely. It wasn't bleeding, but he guessed that the scalpel had slashed through his tendons and muscles.

Deep down, he was vaguely impressed. No one he had met had that high level of chakra control, and how she hid her clones in the aftermath of the punch showed she could come up with plans in battle quickly. On top of that, her use of the chakra scalpel must have come from years of medical training.

Itachi's lips thinned as another blast of pain shot through his eyes; he really shouldn't have worked his Sharingan so much. Well, maybe she can heal them, he thought, staring down at the lean girl in his arms. Her eyes were closed, but her eyebrows were drawn together as if she were in deep concentration.

Hm. We will just have to see.

He pushed off of the next tree branch harder, his cloak billowing out behind him.

It wasn't long until the two Akatsuki members reached the border of the Earth Country. They had been traveling all night at a fast pace, and the sun was almost fully over the horizon now.

The pink-haired kunoichi still hadn't woken up, to Itachi's pleasure. It would be easier to do this if she were not conscious.

They skirted around a small, worn-down village and continued along side a short mountain range. Itachi's eyes roved across the hillside, searching for the hidden fissure where the Tigress Spirit was being held. He almost passed it, save for the steady pulse of chakra seeping out from a crack just below his chin.

He lightly touched his finger—shifting the girl onto his shoulder to do so—to the opening, and let the slightest amount of his chakra out. The chakra coming from it flared briefly—Itachi stepped back as the crack grew in size and widened just enough for him to fit through. A dark, large cave was now open to him.

Itachi glanced at the blue-skinned man beside him, who in turn grunted and moved to rest against the rocky hillside, keeping watch.

Itachi nodded, assured that nothing would disturb them, and walked into the near impervious shadows of the cave, his apprentice in his arms.