The Curse

Chapter Seven: Reunion

Naruto was really pushing his body past his usually high limits and even in his peripheral vision Sasuke was starting to break a sweat; the Uchiha's dark orbs were narrowed and his lips were pulled down into a deep frown as opposed to the usual apathetic look he wore whenever they traveled. They had been running for an hour, halfway towards their destination. It didn't help Naruto's mood that the weather kept changing so abruptly; one minute it's sunny, then it starts raining, and then it becomes sunny and raining!

What kind of place is this?

Sasuke didn't seem to be fairing any better; occasionally he would make the most random grunts and throw the scenery the fiercest glare as if it was the main reason Sakura was missing. Naruto pretty much ignored him, tried not to count down the seconds, and ran towards whatever point was farthest and when he got there he'd just zone in on the farthest point again.

A noise startled Naruto from his reverie and his azure orbs darted towards Sasuke to find the ex-Avenger unaware of the blonde's surprise. They were a good few yards apart but they were close enough to be aware of each other's movements and Naruto could have sworn the noise he heard was loud enough for both of them to hear.

The noise started up again, this time louder and Naruto flinched, his hand automatically moving towards his ear, sweaty fingers brushing against the cool plastic of his earpiece. Immediately his eyes widened and he pressed the button, trying to obtain some sort of connection.

"Sakura-chan?" He called out desperately, eyes wide, speed slowing a fraction and catching Sasuke's attention, the Uchiha also pressing into his radio upon Naruto's inquiry, "Sakura-chan? Are you there? I can't hear you!"

"Dobe, what are you doing?" The Uchiha grunted into his communications device, his form steadily getting closer to Naruto.

"You didn't hear it?" Naruto growled in disbelief, "I heard noises coming from this stupid thing! It's got to be Sakura-chan!"

"You could be picking up stray radio waves," Sasuke informed him bluntly.

"No I'm not!" Naruto argued and his running stopped dead when a light voice, completely opposite of Sasuke's deep baritone, echoed through his earpiece; Sasuke stopped his running also, making his way towards Naruto with an irritated glare on his expression, "Sakura-chan?"

"Ha…Ha…Ha…Ha…Turn around while you still can…" The light voice answered him; blonde brows furrowing, Naruto's blue orbs found Sasuke but the Uchiha didn't seem to be hearing in his radio what he was.

Fumbling for the button on his collar, Naruto growled, "Who the hell are you? Where's Sakura-chan? Answer me!"

"Who are you talking to?" Sasuke snarled in irritation, clearly wanting to get a move on.

"There's a girl on my radio," Naruto replied with a frown, "She's telling me to turn back! Like hell I am!"

"I don't hear a girl, dobe," The Uchiha countered.

"Well, I do!" The blonde retorted.

"Ha…Ha…Ha…Turn back now or we'll get you too…She's ours…Ha…Ha…Haruno Sakura is ours…She'll play with us…She will…Ha…Ha…" The static was starting to overtake the voice and Naruto pressed determinedly into the device.

"You give her back! If you touch her I'll make you regret it!" Naruto yelled into his radio, Sasuke watching with a mixture of confusion and annoyance, fingers toying with the dial of his own radio to see if he could find and hear exactly what Naruto was hearing.

"Ha…Ha…Ha…Turn back…Turn back…Ha…Ha…"

"I won't!" Naruto shouted, earning another glare from Sasuke.

"Turn back!" Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the light voice transform into something more throaty, still feminine but more dark and menacing, "Her blood is mine! Turn back! Both of you turn back!"

Naruto could see Sasuke's eyes widen also and assumed that his comrade could now hear the same voices he was. It had addressed them both; it was likely they were getting through to Sasuke's radio too.

"Haruno Sakura is ours to play with…Leave now, you can't have her…Ha…Ha…" The lighter voice had returned, tone sweet but words deadly.

"The hell–" Sasuke growled.

"Ha…Ha…Ha…HA…HA…HA HA HA!" The volume of the broken laughter increased until the device couldn't take it anymore and the feedback resulted in such a high pitch both Naruto and Sasuke had to pull the radios out of their ears to prevent their organs from bleeding.

"Fuck!" Naruto shouted as he stared at the device, waiting a few moments before returning it to his ear only to find that the sound had blown out, "What the fuck!"

"So she's captured," Sasuke concluded gravely, staring at the radio in his hand, "But it sounds like she's alive…They didn't speak as if they killed her."

"No, they said they wanted to play with her and wanted her blood!" Naruto corrected with a touch of disgust, "What the heck was that? I mean, a little girl?"

"It's a radio, dobe," Sasuke stated, "The static probably distorted the voice a bit; a little girl wouldn't be capable of that."

"I don't know…" Naruto replied skeptically.

"Come on, we've lost enough time as is," The Uchiha urged before he jumped back into the trees, Naruto already matching stride with him, "When we get there and scope out what's going on that's when we'll figure out a plan of action. We don't know what we're dealing with here and we shouldn't go barging in without a strategy."

Naruto nodded, hand clenching around his earpiece, effectively breaking it, "Right."

Sakura stood above her medical bag and Jounin flak-jacket with a frown. Jade eyes looked over the items thoughtfully, the blood smeared across her belongings and the fact that they sat atop the trail Yoshiro left behind made her hesitant to touch it. Blood never bothered the Medic before, she dealt with it every day – in the Hospital, on field missions, even when healing up Sasuke and Naruto after a particularly aggressive sparring match – but now, taking in the sight of the thick, crimson liquid covering the objects that displayed her Rank and profession as a Medical Ninja made the fact that she failed to save Satsuma Yoshiro that much more prominent.

Kami, she hated failing in saving lives…

Shaking her head to rid her of such cynical thoughts, Sakura turned away from her belongings deciding to pick them up later – as well as give them a thorough washing – after her investigation in the Tri-Point Forest. Again, her kunai had been removed; walking through the open streets of the Border Village was one thing, but hiking through the maze that was a forest riddled with dark nooks and crannies was something else entirely. Her scroll, carrying her trusted Battle Axe, was within hand's quick reach and after a firm nod towards Dai – the boy also armed cautiously – they followed the trail left behind by the creature.

It was a little reassuring hearing the birds singing in the trees and Sakura kept in mind that animals did have senses sensitive to other creatures, and the unusual, so she remained aware of their songs and the off-chance that when they suddenly went quiet something could be wrong. Her eyes were darting everywhere as she walked: to the trail, the surrounding trees, to Dai, any sudden movements from squirrels and other critters, and also to Yoshiro's blood trail that was still parallel to the darker tracks. The tension in her shoulders was tight and her limbs were just itching to react to anything out of the ordinary.

Even Sakura wasn't completely sure what she was looking for in the Forest. She had been blind to the darkness when she ran after Yoshiro so she didn't know the exact direction she went, and she wasn't even sure if there was going to be anything left to find if the creatures hadn't disposed of it themselves already. Kami, Sakura didn't even want to think about how anything would have been disposed of by such…demons.

So, for now, the only lead she and Dai had were the two trails: Yoshiro's blood trail and the creature's dark trail.

"It separates…" Dai stated just as they entered into a relatively small clearing. The tracks did, indeed, part ways at the foot of a tall tree, the blood trail going left and the dark trail going right. The tracks themselves were becoming harder to discern amongst the dirt and rocks of the forest, but the blood was still bright; and the moisture from the water of the creature's trail was still distinguishable also.

"Then we'll separate too," Sakura answered, looking at Dai, the boy's features unsure, "I'll follow the dark trail and you follow Yoshiro's," She rummaged through her belt and produced two flares, handing Dai one of them, "If you run into trouble, you call for my help with this; you find anything worth seeing, you call for me with this, got it?"

"But, what about–?"

"They don't come out in daylight hours, right?" Sakura acknowledged earning an agreeing nod from her companion; she grinned, "Then we should have nothing to worry about. Find out where it leads, that's all. We'll meet back here in half an hour, agreed?"

"…Okay," The Chuunin answered hesitantly, obviously uncertain but obliging.

Sakura smirked and offered him a two-finger salute before turning right, following after the darker trail. Dai watched her for a couple of seconds, frowning, before he sighed and turned left, staying close the crimson tracks.

"…Alright, let's see where you lead to…" Sakura muttered before she started up a light jog, kunai still grasped firmly in her right hand and emerald orbs still narrowed in complete awareness.

Her trail was pretty straight-forward, no sudden twists and turns and it was heading directly north-west. The tracks were becoming less visible and a sudden thought struck Sakura. She wondered how fast these creatures were, she didn't know if what she was following was a result of the creature coming after her and Dai the night before or a result of it leaving the house. Could it be both? A set trail maybe? But when the shadows left that morning, when they all faded away with the coming of day, it had been a quick transition. Not a minute after the creatures left the sun had risen; they couldn't have moved that fast at this amount of distance in under a minute, could they?

Sakura scowled, this investigation was irritating her more with each passing second. Sighing, she thought about what Sasuke and Naruto might think and what their guesses about this problem might be. She had yet to summon Katsuyu, deciding to do it after she and Dai left the Forest, that way, after she got enough clues from all the places she planned to examine, she could relay some of the information to another of Katsuyu's duplicates who would then report it to Tsunade.

"I wonder how much back-up Shishou is willing to send…" Sakura whispered thoughtfully to herself, "Another Team would be useful…Shikamaru and Neji maybe? I think I should just write out a report and have Katsuyu-sama deliver it instead…"

CRACK!

Sakura stopped, head whipping around as her armed hand moved up on the defensive. Emerald eyes swiftly scanned her surroundings finding nothing out of the ordinary before they darted towards the ground where the sound had originated from. She knew she had stepped on something, she had felt it under the sole of her boot; she was just making sure she hadn't sprung a trap.

Slowly lowering her hand, stance still cautious, Sakura walked towards the object she had stepped on, the item hidden under dirt and dry leaves. After slipping on her gloves Sakura used her right hand to brush the soil away and picked up the broken article, brows furrowed as she examined it closely.

Her radio.

The kunoichi frowned as she stood, spinning the gadget in front of her and deeming it beyond repair, unfortunate that it was broken because it would have proved useful in contacting anyone, especially Naruto and Sasuke. She sighed, pocketing the device before continuing her pursuit of the trail.

She ran another few-hundred yards before the forest floor began to steepen steadily into a small valley, the foliage was becoming thicker and it was getting harder to maneuver through the surrounding trees, the track itself was even difficult to see in the darkness that this new part of the forest provided. So, Sakura stopped running. She stood warily at the opening of this new thickened area of the woods, eyeing the trail disappearing in the darkness, wondering if this provided another limit for the shadows: was it dark enough in there for them to hide from the daylight? If she stepped in would she be grabbed by those shadowed hands? Was that where they resided, was there something deeper in there or on the other side?

Kami, if something was hiding in there she was tempted to just light a match and burn them all back to the hell that they came from.

But, all she had were assumptions. The trail led there, it didn't mean they resided there. She wasn't about to blow up a large part of the forest based on a speculation. Three countries wouldn't appreciate her destroying a portion of their lands anyway.

With a determined crease of her brow Sakura twirled her kunai with a flourish and walked towards the nearest tree she stood by. With a grunt she began to carve a symbol into the bark of the trunk, one that was large, recognizable, and clearly visible from far away. An arrow, a simple arrow that pointed towards the darkened foliage. She didn't have enough time and the resources to inspect something so suspicious and quite-possibly dangerous, and the trail wasn't going to last forever. Until she was prepared she would mark this area for future investigation.

The ANBU Medic headed to a few more trees, carving out the same symbol pointing towards the foliage. Calling up chakra to her right fist after holstering her kunai Sakura headed to the center of the clearing and punched the ground, creating a crater that would be visible from the sky – Torio was going to be of additional use later.

And, for good measure, Sakura knocked down a tree, because the ground hadn't been enough to release all of her recently built up frustrations and it felt a little good to let some of it out. The experience of having chakra flowing through her body towards her fist and then set loose into a destructive blow was quite calming for the Medic. Allowing a heavy exhale and small grin for her progressive work she assessed the clearing one last time before throwing one last glance at the darkened woods and turned on her heel back towards the designated spot to meet with Dai.

"Hm, maybe Dai has a little more information about that area anyway," Sakura muttered as she followed the tracks back the way she came.

However, the kunoichi's thoughts were cut short when she heard an echoing boom, eyes lifting up at the sky to see the tell-tale red flare heading back to the ground. Without a second thought Sakura was running at flash-speed, chakra pumping towards her feet as she removed her kunai, jumping over large boulders and fallen trees, wondering what kind of trouble Dai had run into. Luckily, she hadn't been too far from his location, possibly five-hundred yards away, and when she crashed into the clearing, one hand holding a kunai and the other bordered in blue chakra, she was surprised to see Dai jump with startle at her entrance, his eyes wide.

"What's the problem?" Sakura breathed, viridian orbs darting everywhere before looking over the Chuunin to assess his wellbeing. He seemed unharmed; actually, he seemed just the way she had left him, and the tension in her body left her as her arms fell limply to her sides, "Dai-san?"

"No problem, Sakura-san," Dai assured quickly, hands up in surrender, "You told me to call you when there was something worth seeing."

Sakura sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, 'Right…'

This Mission really had her on edge, didn't it?

"Right…" Sakura exhaled, echoing her thoughts; she opened her eyes, "Alright, what'd you find?"

"This…" Dai responded instantly, pointing to the ground and stepping aside.

Sakura's eyed widened in distress. Blood. More blood. It was blood covering the entirety of the clearing. Did Yoshiro really lose that much of his life; did his body really hold that much scarlet-liquid? First the clear torture displayed at the scene of the clinic and now this? Her eyes darted towards the edge of the open space where a trail of the substance started and Sakura could only assume that it was the same trail that led Dai to this spot.

Satsuma Yoshiro's life had ended here and Dai and Sakura had walked through the journey of his death from the room at the clinic to this very clearing, following a trail of liquid that slowly left the man's body, taking him away from the world in the most brutal of ways.

She was beginning to feel queasy.

"It goes in about seven different directions…" Dai observed as he walked around, pointing to each, "A droplet track here, something dragged away over there, smaller blood paths heading that way," He frowned, looking back at the pale Medic, "He was taken to this clearing and was ripped apart. I tried following each of them but they all end within feet of this area…I'm guessing they devoured him."

Sakura wanted to throw-up.

"…Okay…" She whispered, taking in his analysis before she straightened and began to do her own examination, "Okay…so there's nothing left of him. Kami," She shook her head and plowed on with her inspection, "…Kami…"

Yes, there were trails that spread out to different sides of the clearing, some smaller than others. Pieces of cloth – Yoshiro's clothing most likely – were also scattered around but what caught Sakura's attention was one of the larger trails, not as thick as the one they had been following through the Forest but at least two-thirds the size. She tilted her head, eyes narrowed, following the scarlet track until it continued up the bark of the tree and then disappeared amongst the leaves and branches above.

"Sakura-san?" Dai called out.

"…Something might be up there," Sakura answered, pointing to the canopy for Dai's benefit; she rolled up her sleeves, tightened her ponytail, and removed two kunai, crouching low, ready to jump into the branches, "I'm going to check it out."

Dai jogged towards her eyeing the tree, frowning, "Should I go with you?"

"No, just stay down here for back-up, I'll be okay," She threw him another one of her reassuring smiles and jumped without another word, the leaves rustling at her entrance.

The tree was large and pretty old which meant a lot of branches and a lot of leaves. Sakura felt a little cramped as she maneuvered herself higher, grabbing onto sturdy limbs before she hefted herself to the next level. Dai remained at the base of the tree, looking up, trying to catch a glimpse of movement or a flash of pink but not seeing any.

"Anything?" Dai asked loudly, cupping a hand to his mouth.

Sakura grunted, freeing her shirt from a sharp twig and mechanically shook her head, "Not yet!" She would have given up after seeing how massive a maze the tree made but the occasional smudge of blood seen on a few boughs she passed was reason enough for her to keep going.

Higher the kunoichi went, occasionally scraping her skin against rough bark but continuing on in determination. Looking up Sakura assessed her direction and tilted her head when she saw a brief flash hidden amongst a cluster of leaves. Curious, Sakura moved towards it. She had traveled another few levels of limbs and branches when she was just feet away from where she saw the brief glint. Warily, Sakura grabbed the bunch of leaves and slowly moved it aside.

She found her Lantern.

"…What are you doing here?" Sakura whispered, confused, "I…I could have sworn I left you on the Bridge…"

Right?

"Sakura-san?" Dai called again, sounding a little stressed, "You okay up there?"

"I'm fine!" She replied hurriedly, "I found my lantern though!" She tugged on it, but it didn't move, caught amongst the branches, "It's stuck, I'm going to try to pull it out!"

"Alright!"

Sakura tugged the lantern again, the limbs attached to it keeping it in place and although the kunoichi wanted to use her chakra-powered strength she didn't want to risk breaking the thing either, it could be useful for when they stayed another night, she doubted candles would be entirely sufficient.

Below, Dai was still looking up at the tree, and he had yet to catch a glimpse of Sakura's pink hair. However, he could hear the rustling from where he stood but he was curious as to why it was taking so long for her to free the object. He was about to call up and offer some help when something wet dropped on his face. Startled, Dai brought his hand up and dragged his fingers across his left cheek, where he had felt the sudden touch.

He pulled back his hand and saw red.

"…Blood?" He looked up again, confused, hearing Sakura grunt in annoyance, "Sakura-san?"

Above, Sakura could feel irritation building up for Dai's constant checking-up, "What?" She gave the lantern a final yank and it completely gave way, the sudden freedom causing Sakura to stumble back, her shoulder finding purchase on a branch, preventing her from falling over, but before Sakura even had time to smile in triumph, something also followed the freedom of the lantern.

A dark form fell from above, attached to the lantern, falling into Sakura who had gone wide-eyed as she stared into a dark, bloody, socket-less face. Frightened, the Medic yelped, throwing her free arm up, kunai sinking into the intruding corpse – it had to be a corpse, she thought, the smell indicated that – before she lost her footing and slipped off the bough, plunging to the ground below, limbs and branches snapping under her weight, small twigs lacerating her skin as she passed, the extra weight stuck to her like a second skin.

She screamed.

"Sakura-san!" Dai shouted in alarm, looking up at the branches, hearing the snapping of bark and seeing the rustle of leaves with her approach, "Sakura-san!"

The kunoichi fell into Dai, the boy falling on his back, both robbed of their breath. Sakura could feel pain shoot up her side from her fall and the sting of her cuts but the weight atop her terrified her more. With a sharp inhale she shoved the corpse off her, rolled off of Dai, and backed away from the lantern and its accessory on hands and rear, eyes wide, her breathing coming out in quick gasps.

Kami, she was hyperventilating.

Dai was a little slower, coughing to try and regulate his breathing after the impact of Sakura falling atop him, but his eyes were trained on the mangled corpse that had been thrown a few meters away from him. He paled upon seeing the full-extent of the damage. It was Satsuma Yoshiro alright, he could recognize the belt, but he was almost indistinguishable. The corpse's arms were gone, only one leg remained attached to the torso but the foot was missing; his expression was forever twisted into that of pain, his mouth wide in a silent scream. His eyes were gone and he was covered in blood, both dried and wet.

Then Dai heard the quick breathing and switched his gaze to the Konoha Leaf Ninja, wanting to ascertain her condition. She was visibly shaken, trying her best to regulate her breathing but her emerald orbs were trained on the corpse, wide and afraid. It was truly the most sign of fear he had seen from her since meeting her and it was a little disconcerting that someone so strong could break down. However, he reminded himself that what they were facing wasn't normal.

Dai stood, moved towards her cautiously – glancing at the corpse warily making sure it was dead – and knelt beside her. She had gotten control of her breathing by now but her head was bowed, resting between her knees, elbows atop her knees and hands running through her hair. An occasional shudder shook her body but she was calming and that brought a wave of relief to the Bird Chuunin.

"…I'm okay," Sakura answered quietly, before Dai could even ask, "…Just surprised…I'm fine."

"…Alright…"

She lifted her head and stared at the corpse, her features neutral, so blank that Dai didn't know what to make of it. It didn't help that Sakura was covered in blood, her entire front drenched in the substance, her face smeared with it; even a few tendrils of hair were highlighted in red. The kunoichi noticed it too, glancing at her gloves, the scarlet hard to see against the black rubber, but there.

Finally, emotion was present, and Sakura frowned, standing up, eyes never straying from the corpse, "…They planted that…Why else put the lantern there but to try to scare the shit out of us?" Her brows creased harshly, angered, "Well, fuck that," Dai's eyes widened at her sudden coarse language and watched as she looked around as if others were watching them – maybe they were, "I'll find you!" She shouted, and then her voice lowered darkly, "Fuck a Curse…I'll figure out what's really going on…And when I do, they'll regret ever pulling a stunt like this."

"…Sakura-san?" Dai asked hesitantly, hoping he wasn't losing the kunoichi to insanity.

"We're taking him with us," The Medic stated as she pointed at the corpse, "I'll perform an autopsy once we find shelter."

"…Right!" Dai agreed before he began rummaging through his pouches for a spare inventory scroll or even a bag.

Sakura, however, walked towards the corpse and removed the lantern from its grip, staring down on Satsuma Yoshiro with a mixture of pity and disdain.

"We'll find your killer, Yoshiro-san…" She whispered, "…I promise."

Sasuke frowned as he crouched low against the top of the grassy hill overlooking the Rain Border Village. One glance and he could already see that the village had been evacuated, corresponding with what the Tsuchikage had told him and Naruto. It looked peaceful enough, nothing like the kind of town that would be ravaged with deaths and disappearances, but there never really was a trend for those kinds of things, was there? People died and people disappeared, simple as that. Unfortunately, his female teammate had joined the statistics and, hopefully, she was still on the latter list.

"Perimeter looks clear, no one's around," Naruto stated as he appeared beside the Uchiha, brows furrowed in confusion, "I couldn't check the west end because of a valley but I saw a bridge that went across it…There's something on the bridge but I couldn't make it out; it's too far to see."

"A body?" Sasuke offered, activating his Sharingan, crimson orbs scanning the empty, lifeless streets.

"Too small," Naruto replied before he clenched his hand, "Unless it's that little girl on the radio…"

"Naruto," The ex-Avenger sighed, exasperated, "A little girl couldn't have–"

"Hey, Itachi was a kid when he did you-know-what all those years ago," The blonde argued though he had the courtesy to look ashamed for mentioning the older Uchiha's name when Sasuke threw a fierce glare at him.

"Itachi was different," He defended, hand clutching the hilt of his Kusanagi, "He was ordered to massacre the Clan. What reason would a little girl have for abducting people?"

"Um, maybe, because she's crazy!" The self-proclaimed future Hokage whispered loudly.

Sasuke shook his head, rolling his eyes, "You forget there were two voices on the radio. There's a group of them. Little girl or not they've got to be dangerous if they took out Sakura."

"Captured Sakura," Naruto corrected, "She's not dead!"

"You know what I meant, dobe!" Sasuke countered in irritation, and before Naruto could fire back a reply the Uchiha was already creeping down the slope of the hill, staying as quiet as possible, still alert for any surprise attacks. Naruto followed close behind, a scowl on his lips.

"Are you sure there's no one around?" The Sharingan-User inquired as he leaned against the wall of a building, peering around the corner to find empty streets once again, "This seems too easy."

"Positive," Naruto answered, closing his eyes, "Kyuubi says he doesn't feel any chakra around here either," He frowned and looked at the ex-Avenger, "You think they took her away someplace else?"

"It's a possibility, though it makes it harder for us," He stepped out into the open, slowly walking down the street, Sharingan spinning and hand still clenched around the hilt of his Grass Cutter, "We should look around for clues…"

"Let's start at the Bridge!" Naruto suggested eagerly, jogging after him, azure orbs also darting around uneasily at the too-quiet streets, "I want to know what's on it."

Sasuke nodded, seeing as that was as good a start as any. If there weren't any clues to find at the Bridge then the next best place to go was the Clinic, Sakura had to have gone there to find patients or injured. In reality, knowing her, it wouldn't be a far bet to check the Village's Administrations Building either. Her personality called for curiosity and she'd be the type to head over there to find Records about what happened.

The Uchiha sighed. Why was it that he and his teammates were always thrust into the most bothersome of problems?

"What the–?" Naruto whispered, stopping in his tracks causing Sasuke to look ahead to see what caught his comrade's attention.

What he found was not something that could reassure him of Sakura's safety.

Far from it.

Two trails, one as red as his infamous Sharingan and the other as black as the night; there was no doubt that the red was blood but the darker substance he was unsure about; dirt maybe? Both converged from different sides of the Bridge before running parallel across it, disappearing inside the depths of the forest on the other side. Instantly, Naruto and Sasuke were on high alert, darting their gazes around as they slowly moved closer towards the wooden walkway.

"See anything?" Naruto asked, "Feel anything?"

"Nothing."

Both were frowning, still cautious as they moved, until Naruto's azure orbs landed on the objects lying atop the blood trail at the middle of the Bridge. He scanned it quickly, his mind registering a messenger bag and a green flak-jacket.

A Leaf Ninja flak-jacket.

"Sakura-chan!" The blonde breathed before running off towards the piled objects, eyes wide as he took in the blood-drenched items, "…Sak–?"

Sasuke came up behind him, obsidian orbs trained intensely on the bag and flak-jacket, lips pulled into a thin line, "…Naruto…"

"She can't be dead," Naruto growled lowly, blue orbs flashing red, "She can't be…This isn't her blood!" He looked up at Sasuke, cobalt orbs pleading, "Right, teme?"

The Uchiha didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything. He looked at the blood trail and stared. Images of Sakura's smiling face were flickering quickly through his mind and his clenched hand around Kusanagi tightened with his increasing anger. His obsidian orbs followed the blood trail until he was looking at the entrance of the Forest; Naruto's statements of denial echoing in his head.

Sakura couldn't be dead.

"Fuck, we weren't fast enough!" Naruto shouted in self-deprecation; Sasuke in silent agreement beside him, inwardly berating himself for not pressing about a problem the same night she voiced hers, for not being there when she needed them.

A rustle in the foliage caught Sasuke's attention and his hand instantly unsheathed Kusanagi a fraction, ready to spill blood, the Avenger in him resurfacing. Naruto had noticed the sound too and was beginning to growl lowly beside him, crouched and ready to pounce on whatever emerged. For what seemed like hours the two comrades stood side-by-side ready to enact vengeance for their fallen companion, ready to take out whoever had taken her from them.

Two figures emerged and Sasuke unsheathed his katana completely while Naruto could feel a Rasengan forming in his outstretched palm.

The figures stopped at the end of the Bridge, noticing their presence and both Leaf Shinobi crouched, ready to lunge.

"…Naruto? Sasuke-kun?"

The light, hesitant, hopeful, desperate voice stopped them and began to focus their hazy-red visions. That voice was familiar. Sharingan began to spin lazily and flickering-red returned to bright blue. One figure stepped forward, hesitant and unsure.

"Guys? Is that you?"

And then they saw the pink, buried beneath the scarlet blood, brilliant viridian watering up with tears of relief, a smile breaking out against her red-stained face.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered.

And then she ran towards them and Naruto was quick to respond, running just as fast – if not faster – towards her. The two collided and Sakura's arms were tight around Naruto's waist, his arms squeezing around her shoulders. Her head was buried in his chest, transferring blood onto his green, flak-jacket, and his face was buried in her pink hair, taking her in. They were talking but Sasuke was too far to hear though his eyes were discerning her appearance, frowning as he realized the state she was in, dirtied and bloodied with bruises and cuts, though it seemed the blood wasn't entirely hers.

As he returned Kusanagi to its sheath obsidian orbs flickered over to the second figure, the male who had emerged with her, and his eyes narrowed, taking in his less-than-injured state, though a large bag was slung over the boy's shoulder. He looked their age, was dressed like a shinobi – but he couldn't see an official headband – and he was watching Sakura, his eyes softened as he examined the interaction she had with Naruto.

Introductions would indeed have to be made later.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Warm yet fragile arms wrapped around his middle and Sasuke looked down at the mop of pink, blood-covered hair, the woman's eyes closed and a small smile on her expression as she buried her face into his shoulder. As the tension left his body, peripherals catching Naruto grinning at the two widely, he allowed a long and deep exhalation to exit his nose, closing his eyes as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders.

Having her in his hold was proof-enough that she was alive. Inhaling deeply and taking in her cherry-blossom scent was another reassuring sign that she was safe.

"I'm so glad you're both here…" She whispered, "You wouldn't believe what I've been through…"

Sasuke's embrace tightened a fraction, "Hn. Tell us everything. We're here to help you now."

Sakura pulled away, but only enough to look up at him; her arms stayed tight around him and his arm remained around her. Naruto came up beside Sasuke and she smiled at them both.

"…Thanks for coming for me," She laughed lightly, "I knew you would," She leaned her head against Sasuke's shoulder again, looking up at Naruto and seeing Dai coming closer in her minor vision, "I've got a lot to tell you…And I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Naruto grinned as he placed his hand on Sakura's head, languidly ruffling her tresses and Sasuke not minding that he was pretty much supporting the kunoichi's body weight – she was more exhausted than she realized.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," Naruto declared, "Team Seven is on the job!" He winked causing a smile to curl her lips, "It's the S-Ranked Mission we've been waiting for after all."

Yeah, Kakashi really was missing out.

A/N: Yay! So I got out the next chapter of The Curse and Team Seven was REUNITED! Hope you all like it so far, so now that our lovable characters are back together let the Horror (and Romance) BEGIN! Muahahahaha! Oh, and sorry guys for the coarse language exhibited by Naruto-kun, this Fiction is rated M for a reason. So, please let me know what you think so far and I would love to hear from you!

Bee, tee, dubs (btw)...It All Started With has also been Updated, Missing In Action will be making an appearance, a Plot Bunny Idea was added to Keep or Scrap?, and False Facade and Forbidden Bonds will be updated sometime within the next two days, so keep a look out!

And a Big Thank You to ohwhatsherface for adding this story to the C2 Community ohwhatsherfavorites, I mean, I follow that community and you can imagine my surprise when I opened up my email message of a new addition and it was this story, so thank you again, I'm truly honored! :)

Disclaimer: *Pout*

Next Chapter: Debriefing

And! If anyone is confused about the Mapping of this story, I'd recommend checking out the World Map at (www . leafninja . com) Just take out the parentheses and spaces, it's where I get a lot of my Naruto Information! :)

BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed and read my fiction(s), I appreciate your support and feedback! You're all AWESOME!

Oh! One last thing! Anyone got a Twitter? I made one for the sole purpose of making friends who have the same interests as me (Naruto, Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Final Fantasy VII, Anime in general), let me know, I'm open to new friendships and whatever, up to you, just PM me or drop a review! Happy reading everyone!

LotzaLove!

Luvinukag83
aka Len83