A/N: I'm actually updating? IT'S A FREAKING MIRACLE!!!

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RECAP

"Sorry, but I'm just so excited! I love, christmas, I love balls, I love my dress, I love-"

"Sasuke." Hermionie interupted with a cocky smirk.

"Th-that's a BIG thing to say..." Sakura said, stopping her parade to focus her attention on fighting her tomato red blush.

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"Damn it, where is she?" He asked, clearly trying to sound irritated while he was worried.

"Relax Teme, she's probably just fixing her hair or something girly like that." Naruto replied from his seat on the stop of the railing.

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"I was...just on my way, but I decided to check up on a kid in the hospital wing that I had helped out. He's still sick, so I'm going to go check it out." She explained calmly, trying to hide her right, bandaged arm behind her. She reached for it and pull her long green glove higher, trying to hide it.

"Alright." He said, not 100% convinced. Still though, whatever it was he was sure it wasn't his buisness, so he started to walked past the rossette. He was almost completely past her when something grabbed onto his sleeve. He spun around, only to be immediatly hugged by Sakura. It wasn't a hug of lust or anything of the sort. It was the type of hug a little girl might give her father or brother. Once the initial shock past, Kakashi hugged her back. "Sakura, what's gotten into you?" He asked.

Sakura sniffed and pulled back, pushing the papers she had been holding onto his chest. "The white one is for everyone. Give the pink one to Sasuke. Don't open either until the time is right." She said before reaching up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Before he could say anything she turned on a dime and bolted down the halls, disappearing within seconds.

"Sakura..." Kakashi whispered. He didn't know exactly what had just happened, but he knew one thing; She was NOT going to to check on a sick kid.

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Sakura had immediatly known what it meant. 'Hey, I want to kill you, so I found your cousin and I'm going to kill her unless you turn yourself in.'

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Sakura climbed higher and high up the snowy mountain, net yet high enough to need a pick-axe. The snow storm whipped fiercly around her, making it harder and harder to walk with each step she ntok. It was almost as if the wind was trying to tell her to turn back. But she simply couldn't. Sure, it was foolish to beleive simple note implying that her cousin was alive, but when you are as close as they were, you'd go too.

But even though she was doing this for Rin, all she could think about was Sasuke. Hopefully the letter...

Sakura's thoughts were cut off by a sudden presence...make that presences. And they weren't friendly.

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If Sasuke paced anymore, he would wear a hole in the floor. It had been hours since Hermione and Ginny had arrive, saying Sakura said she'd be late; he didn't think she meant THIS late. The Uchiha looked away from the staircase and sighed in aggravation. Harry, Ron Hermione and Ginny were all dancing, Naruto was at the buffet table, and Kakashi sat at the table near by, reading, and Itachi sat across from him, pretending to sleep. Nothing of any value was happening, so he continued his previous activity.

Naruto, having finished his raid on the buffet, walked over to the Uchiha. "Sasuke, Sakura-chan's been a while..." He said, munching on a gingerbread cookie.

"No shit, Sherlock." He growled.

"Well, should we go look for her?"

"I-"

A sudden far off explosion cut them off, followed by a violent earth quake. The students all stopped what they were doing and screamed in surprise. 'It's always at the ball, isn't it?' Sasuke thought bitterly.

"What the hell was that?!" Naruto shouted, trying to save what was left of his collapsed mountain of food.

Itachi and Kakashi were both on thier feet instantly. The silver hairred nin wore a troubled expression. He had a foreboding feeling all night, even before his encounter with Sakura. At first, he thought perhaps she was taking so long because the child's condition was more serious than she thought, but now he was certain that she hadn't gone to see to a sick kid. The Shinobi stepped forward, about to speak to his former students, when he was cut off by a paniced feeling washing over him. The somewhere, in the back of his mind, he heard a young girl screaming;

"Let go of me!"

Flashes of a pink haired girl fighting a large group of mysterious cloaked figure raced through the back of his mind. The pictures were shaken and blurry, but he could see her being knocked out, and stuffed in a bag. Then, just as suddenly as the images appeared, they stopped. Kakashi grunted and brought a hand up to his covered eye.

"Sakura's in trouble." He managed through the ache in his eye.

"What? How do you know?" Sasuke asked urgantly.

"I'll explain later, but right now we need to warn the- hey!" He called after the blonde ninja who was already on his way towards Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

"Guys, Sakura's in trouble. Think you could hold the fort down if we left?" Naruto asked.

"What? O-Of course, but what happened?" Harry asked.

"We don't know." Naruto answered, solomley before turning and running back to his fellow shinobi. "Hold down the fort! We'll back back as soon as we can!" He called over his shoulder. When he arrived back at the table he was met with the sight of Kakashi in pain, Sasuke looking anxious as hell and Itachi looking ready for anything.

"Alright, we need to get up that mountain and FAST." Kakashi grunted once his spliting headache subsided.

"But they didn't kill Sakura on sight, who ever they are. Which means that they want her alive. We need to be cautious about this." Itachi commented.

"There's only one person I know who would have any clue about this." Sasuke said, almost growling as he disappeared before they're eyes. Naruto sighed, then ran after him, knowing exactly where he was going.

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Sasuke burst through the doors to the Gryffindoor common room, immediately appearing in front of Mortel, who was laying across the couch in deep slumber. He roughly grabbed the front of Mortel's shirt, yanking him up, eye to eye. "Where is Sakura?!" He demanded, the fires of hell threatening the boy from behind Sasuke's onyx eyes.

"Wh-what? What's happened to Miss Sakura?!" Mortel asked, slightl;y frightened.

"Like hell you don't know! Where have they taken her?!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Bastard!" Sasuke shouted, throwing him across the room.

"Sasuke! Stop it!" Naruto yelled as he ran into the room/

"Don't defend him Naruto, he was in on it all!"

"Sasuke, he doesn't know anything! If he was, he would have left a long time ago!" Naruto tried to reason, putting himself between the enraged Uchiha and the wizard.

Sasuke tried to get past him, lunging at Mortal, but Naruto was faster, and pinned him against the wall. "Calm down! Acting like this won't save Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke struggled for a few more moments before giving up and slumping against the wall. "Damn it..." He muttered, running a hand through his raven locks.

It was then that Itachi and Kakashi came running in. "Everyone wait." Kakashi ordered. "Sakura found me in the halls before she left and-"

"You saw her?! Why didn't you stop her?!" Sasuke demanded.

"Because she lied to me. Do you think I would have let her leave?" Kakashi said sternly. "Anyway, she gave me these two envelopes. One for everyone, and one for you, Sasuke." He handed the pink envelope to Sasuke, while opening the white one and laying it across the table for everyone to read.

'My friends,

I'm so sorry. That's the first thing I have to say. I'm sorry for everything that has happened, is happening and will happen. I found a letter on my way to the ball, from Orochimaru and Voldemort. They have Rin. They'll kill her if I don't go. I had to do it, she's family. So please, forgive me. You would do it too if you were in my situation.

Yes, I know what I'm getting myself into. I'm prepared, though I'm not going down without a fight. But just in case something goes wrong, and...I don't come back, I wrote this letter, to tell you everything I've ever wanted to say to you.

Itachi. Now, I've only really known you for a few months, but I can already tell you really are a great person who went through a lot in life. But it's made you stronger, like someone else I know. You care about Sasuke a lot, and you're always ready to help, even if you are a big tease. Try to warm up a bit, okay? You've gained my respect.

Kakashi-sensei. I know you're technically not my sensei anymore, but old habits die hard. You've always been so amazing to me, reassuring me when I was sad, helping me with my kekegenkai, making me laugh, you've become the father in our odd little family. And even more, you were great to Rin. She use to tel me about you all the time you know. I could tell she really loved you.

Naruto. I don't even know where to start with you. You are truly one of the best people I have ever met. It seems like nothing can ever get you down, and if something manages to, you're always right back on your feet, heading towards your dreams and being a big baka. But that's what I love about you. You're like a brother to me; annoying as hell, but also my best friend.

Please, keep all this in your hearts, remember me smiling and laughing, exaclty how you want me to be, and not by what you're about to possibly see.

I love you all,

Sakura Haruno.'

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Yeah, Yeah, I was short, I gave a cliffie after over a 5 month absents, but hey, I'm ME. What did you expect? Anyway, now that I'm back into my groove, I'll try to finish this, 'Before the Dawn' and 'Easier to Run' A.S.A.P, because I already know what my next story is. It's called 'Camp Shikon' for the Inuyasha fans out there. Me like :3