Writers Note: Alright, here is the second chapter. R&R, please. Oh, and I drew what Ryu would look like if he were in Naruto. It's on DeviantArt. Message me if you would like the link. Enjoy.~

'...'= Thoughts.

( )= Anything to make things clearer; descriptions, etc.

Chapter 2

Ryu woke up first. He yawned and scanned his surroundings. He saw that Sakura ended up cuddled against his warm fur. He then looked up at the sky to see if he could figure out the time. He guessed it was about late morning. He licked Sakura's face to bring her awake. She yawned and gently pushed his nose away.

"Hmm," Sakura groaned, trying to stand up in her drowsiness. Ryu stood nearby just in case, "I'm okay," She yawned again, "I'm awake." She stretched and said good morning to Ryu. He did the same.

"Now tell me about this organization that we're searching for." Ryu seemed really determined.

Sakura sighed, "They're the bad guys. I'm not joining them because I turned twisted. I'm joining to get stronger. I'm just going to use them." Ryu's eyes widened in interest.

"Do you realize that if the Akatsuki are what you and everyone says they are, we could be eliminated? It's risky, but for you to go through this, it seems this is very important to you for you to go to the enemy for guidance."

Ryu stood up on all fours, looking at her straight in the eye. Sakura isn't really used to major eye contact, so she looked away slightly blushing, "I realize that, but I have to start taking chances. I need to do this."

Ryu comes up behind her, putting his nose between Sakura's legs, thus making her lean on his head to slide her to his back. Sakura blushed realizing he wasn't going to do you know what.

Sakura then realized how she could possibly meet the Akatsuki, "Ryu, have you seen men in a long black cloak with red clouds on them while you've been here?" Ryu didn't answer for a long moment. He really thought about it, until he got something, "Why, yes. Yes I have. Not too long ago actually. There were two. Are they part of this 'Akatsuki?'" Sakura nodded. Ryu snorted, "Why didn't you say so earlier! I can follow their scent." Ryu then began run until they finally got out of the forest. They came across a plain, completely covered in growing green grass. The sun was trying to break through the clouds. Sakura thought it was beautiful seeing the rays of light shine through.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Such a lovely morning." Ryu said, keeping his pace. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Sakura almost flew from his back, "What is it!" She said, being cautious. Ryu laughed, "I only stopped to get a good look. This is almost like a dream, don't you think? Me with a beautiful girl under the beautiful morning skies shining upon a wonderful plain. It's so surreal." He said passionately. Sakura blushed and hid her face before he could even notice.

"Well then, let's keep going." He started running again, faster than before though. I guess he feels great after looking at the sky. As they kept going, they came across more trees. Sakura told Ryu to take a rest and she took out some food for them.

"I think the food I brought will only last us until tomorrow…"

Ryu looked at Sakura, "We must look for a town tomorrow then."

When she finished eating, Ryu was still chowing down his food. She decided to look around. They stopped at the edge of the whole forest. She went behind the tree she leaned on and noticed what seemed to be a backpack lying there. It's things were scattered everywhere around the pack. Sakura bent down to pick them up, and realized, this is Sasuke's backpack. She remembered it from the night he left.

She picked up what fell from the backpack. She found old food, his clothes, a few weapons, and a mini booklet. She opened the booklet and noticed it wasn't any booklet, it was a mini album, like hers. She found pictures of Sasuke with, she assumed, his parents. And one with Itachi. She flipped through a few more photos until she came across photos she did not expect to be in Sasuke's little album. She found pictures of Team 7. From their group picture to all the funny moments they had together. Did he really keep these photos? He always seems so cold, you'd never think...

Ryu came looking for her and found her looking at the pictures.

"Someone's belongings, I see. Looks like someone had been jumped."

Sakura stood up abruptly, "SASUKE! SASUKE, IT'S ME, SAKURA! SASUKE?" She kept shouting for a few more minutes, clutching Sasuke's small photo album. SHe didn't receive a reply from the thick greenery. She ran back to Ryu, where Sasuke's backpack was torn and scattered, "Oh no, oh no, Sasuke, what's happened..."

Ryu watched Sakura curiously, "You know this male, do you? Well, he's fine, if you must know. He was only startled, and had forgotten his things is all."

Sakura raised a questioning brow. Ryu cleared his throat, "I do have a strong nose, you know. I can tell what's happened by the smell in the air. Simple."

Sakura knelt down, emptying Sasuke's backpack with food they could use until they could find a town. Ryu watched her; she was focused, upset, irritated, ignoring Ryu's presence which he wasn't happy with, and kept looking through the little book. He thought about why she would possibly be this way until it suddenly hit him, "So this is why you're on your journey, is it? Because of that male, what did you name him, Sasuke? It's him, isn't it?"

"Did you figure it out with that nose of yours?" Sakura replied with a growl, which caught Ryu offguard completely.

Ryu came up to Sakura and began to circle her. Was he imagining things? Did he really hear her growl or?

Sakura ignored him and packed everything until she was ready to leave. She paused to look at a photo of team 7 before pocketing it. She sighed, "Let's go. We wasted time here."

Sometime in the afternoon, they finally found a small town. It had few houses and shops. A tiny town, nice and peaceful it seemed. As they approached, Sakura put a hand in front of Ryu, "I don't think it's a good idea to let you enter the town. You'd scare everyone away."

Ryu looked appalled, "Excuse me, but I do have some abilities! Now if you will just give me a moment.."

Sakura crossed her arms, wondering what Ryu had up his sleeve. After a few minutes of staring him, he slowly began to morph into a shape of a human body. He shrank into a strong muscled human form. Once his transformation was finished, Sakura was so surprised. Ryu fixed and patted his clothing that he apparently carried. When he looked up, he saw her face, and chuckled, "I was serious. Don't say I didn't tell you so."

Sakura was blushing pink, "You didn't mention this before!" Ryu placed a hand under his chin and replied, "You didn't exactly ask. Now move aside." Sakura looked at his new form.

Ryu's eyes were still the same. His skin was pale and thin and he had muscle, but you wouldn't tell just by looking at him. His hair was not like any style she's ever seen before. The very bottom layer of his hair was longer than the rest of the top layer; the top layers were cropped and layered, and the color of his hair was what seemed to be a platinum, silver color. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a long wide shirt collar that went as far as his shoulders. He also wore gray shorts and he was barefoot. One thing Sakura didn't notice until now was the necklace around his neck. It looked like a fang, but it was clear, and inside it you could see a pitch black gem.

But most of all was the fact that he was amazingly attractive. That's the first thing she noticed when he transformed, apparently.

"Well then," She said, "Let's go."