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A/N: Sorry it's been so long guys! I've been torn between school, work, another story I'm writing (which is not fanfiction), another two fanfictions, deviantart, a new book by Stephen King, a ton of other novels, and my newfound interest in the Twilight Saga. Needless to say, these things have taken up much of my time, but here I am with a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I may be kinda boring, compared to the previous. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Lol.

Oh, and also…if you don't know who Pain is, then you really aren't going to understand this very well. You can either read the manga, look it up on Wikipedia, or deal with the limited amount of information I am about to give here. Pain is a very strong ninja who was trained by Jiraya before he went to the dark side. He is the leader of Akatsuki and can pretty much control things in a way similar to the force (no pun intended). He has really weird abilities which are hard to explain, but all the same, very very dangerous. With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter. Please. Lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.


Redemption

Chapter Six- Impatience

The rain was finally starting to let up as the sun dipped low in the sky. No one had spoken since leaving the clearing with the odd ninja, Ayato. Sasuke furrowed his eyes. Pain-sama. Pain. Who is this person that everyone seems so afraid to speak about? Sasuke knew a little bit about the man, but that was all. He was the leader of Akatsuki. He must be strong, but Sasuke had no idea what he could do. He had considered asking Sakura a few times on the way back, but hadn't done it yet.

He remembered the conversation with Sakura a few days prior, under the moon, when she asked him about Akatsuki. He mentioned Pain's name at the time. Now Sasuke wondered if she knew something and hadn't told him. It wasn't like Sakura to go into a mission uninformed.

Hinata rested on Sasuke's back as they ran towards the town where Neji and Sai were. He hoped he wasn't jostling her too much and causing any pain by running so fast. They didn't have an option, however, because Naruto's life depended on their speed. Sasuke glanced at Sakura once again and sucked his breath in softly. He prepared himself to ask her in a way that didn't make him sound stupid and uninformed. It wasn't his fault stupid Orochimaru had barely mentioned this guy.

"Sakura," he started.

Sakura didn't wait for him to continue. "I see the town ahead. We're almost there," she said.

Sasuke turned his gaze back ahead and saw the town as well. "Ah," he muttered. Silence reigned for about thirty more seconds. He had lost his nerve. Again. Sasuke mentally slapped himself.

"Sasuke?"

He glanced at Sakura. "Yes?" he responded.

"Were you going to tell me something?" she asked.

"Actually," he began, "I have a question."

Sakura smiled tightly. "About Pain?"

Sasuke nodded, looking towards the town. Sakura laughed softly, and Sasuke saw that she was upset.

"I don't know much about him myself," she admitted.

"But enough to make you scared," he said.

"We're here," Sakura said, stopping rather suddenly.

Sasuke skidded to a halt. He hadn't expected her to stop so quickly. Hinata stiffened on his back and made a funny sound. Sasuke immediately regretted his instincts. "Are you okay?" he asked, trying not to seem callous.

"Yes," she whispered. "Sorry I'm such a pain," she added.

Sasuke scoffed. "You're not a pain."

Sakura smiled and Sasuke sighed. "Well then," he said, "let's hurry up and find them."

"Actually, it seems like Neji is already on his way," Sakura said looking off to the right.

Sasuke followed her gaze and saw Neji running towards them. Sai wasn't with him. "Where have you been?" Neji exclaimed.

"Distracted," Sasuke said simply. Neji stared at him, waiting for him to say more. When Sasuke didn't say anything, he turned his attention to Sakura.

"Well?" he asked.

Sakura explained the situation as quickly and calmly as she could. She talked about meeting Ayato, going to save Hinata, revising the plan to help Ayato, and having to rescue Naruto. Neji stood still, digesting the whole thing with very little emotion, his calm mask only slipping at the part where Hinata was in a wet bag on the ground in the rain. At the end of the story, Neji removed Hinata from Sasuke's back.

"Are you feeling any better now?" he asked softly while holding her up. Hinata smiled.

"A little bit," she whispered. Neji nodded slightly and lifted her onto his back instead. Sasuke and Sakura watched silently. They stood there awkwardly for a minute or so.

"Where's Sai?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked at Neji, waiting for a response. "I have no idea," he muttered. "The ninja distracted us and were obviously making sure we couldn't get in contact. We should find him soon so that we can get Hinata to a medic."

He looked at Sakura apologetically a moment later, realizing the implication of his sentence. Sakura merely smiled and nodded. "Yes," she agreed, "she needs to get to a hospital. But I don't think we should split up…we've already had enough problems stem from that mistake. Let's look together."

Sasuke and Neji nodded reluctantly. Hinata didn't respond, resting her head on Neji's shoulder.
Twenty minutes later they found Sai. He had been looking for them as well. After telling the story once again, they left the village as fast as they could. The sun had set completely now and the forest was dark, but no one suggested stopping.

During the next two days, nobody said much. Sakura promised Sasuke more information about Pain when they got back to Konoha. Tsunade would know.


As soon as the team arrived they went straight to Hokage Tower. The office door was closed when they got there and Shizune was standing outside the door.

"Returning from your mission then?" she asked. Then she paused. "Where are Naruto and Hinata?"

Sakura grimaced. Hinata was already in the hospital. "Not here. We need to talk to Tsunade-sama."

Shizune looked at them suspiciously. "You can't. The hokage is very busy right now. If you could come back in a few hours…"

"No!" Sakura said, cutting her off in mid sentence. "You don't understand. We need to talk to her. Now."

Shizune stiffened at Sakura's commanding voice and sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. If you want to be yelled at…"

She moved out of the way and gestured for Sakura to open the door herself, which she did. Sasuke followed her, with Neji and Sai in the back. Tsunade looked up when they entered. There were piles of paper all over her desk. Books were stacked precariously everywhere and scrolls littered the floor. Tsunade opened her mouth and then frowned. She seemed to think better of something and finally sighed.

"Where are Naruto and Hinata?"

"Long story," Sakura said. Tsunade eyed her curiously, and Sakura launched into the tale for the third time. Tsunade did not take the story with the same calmness that Neji had.

"WHAT? PAIN! YOU ARE TRUSTING SOMEONE WHO WORKS FOR PAIN?!"

Sakura flinched. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade glared at Sakura. "I thought you were smart," she growled. "You do know who we are dealing with, don't you?"

Sakura looked at her feet for a moment and then brought her head up. There was a fierce glint in her eyes. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I do, Tsunade-sama. I may not know as much as you do, but I understand the implications. I trust Ayato."

Tsunade was unfazed by the change in Sakura's demeanor. "Well then. Fine. I shall trust him for the time being as well. You will need to bring him here when he arrives tomorrow and I will make a final judgment. As for what you understand about Pain, you are right; I do know more. All of you need to stay so that I can explain exactly what you are dealing with here. Pain is not to be taken lightly."

The team nodded in understanding. "Well then…where should I start…"


Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, and Neji stepped out of Hokage Tower. Neji looked at Sakura for direction. Funny, how suddenly everyone looked to her for guidance.

"We meet here tomorrow around noon. I'm not sure exactly when he'll get here, so you might be waiting for a while. When Ayato does arrive, I'll bring him here. From then, we shall introduce him to Tsunade-sama." She smiled. "Then we can leave to go get Naruto. Hopefully this will all be over soon."

Neji nodded and disappeared in a flash. Sai started to leave without a word. Sasuke glanced at Sakura and began to walk reluctantly after him.

"Sasuke," Sakura called after him. Sasuke turned around to face her. Sai ignored them and continued to walk away.

"Sakura, I need to leave…he's not going to wait."

Sakura glanced at her feet and her hair fell in her face, hiding her faint blush. "Um, Sasuke, why don't you spend tonight at my apartment? I want to talk to you about strategy."

Seconds passed in silence. Sakura was almost too afraid to look up at his face, but when she did, he was looking away.

"Sasuke?"

"Okay," he said. Sakura smiled.

"Sai?" she called. He was almost out of sight.

"I heard," he yelled back. "And thanks, hag. I hate dealing with him."

Sakura decided to ignore his comment about her and began to walk towards her apartment. Sasuke followed her.

"Do you need to grab anything from Sai's?" she asked.

"Not really," he muttered. "This isn't about strategy is it?"

"No," she responded. "I wanted to save you from staying another night with Sai." She glanced behind her to see his reaction. Sasuke did something he rarely did, and smiled.

"Thanks," he said. Sakura blushed and looked away. "Anytime."


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It was cold and windy. Sakura and Sasuke stood waiting for Ayato to arrive at the main gates in the windy weather. They had in fact been waiting for almost three hours. Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Maybe he's not coming," he said finally. "He could have tricked us…"

"No Sasuke. He's coming. I told you…I trust Ayato."

"Yeah," Sasuke said, "I remember." They glared at each other.

"Sakura-san!" called a familiar voice. Sakura and Sasuke looked towards the gate at the same time. Ayato was walking towards the gate with a younger boy on his back. The boy looked to be about their age, in the late teens. Sakura smiled and waved.

"You're here!" she called.

"Of course," he responded, finally reaching them. "I told you I was coming."

Sasuke muttered something under his breath about not being able to trust backstabbing ninja and something about Pain. Sakura smiled, stepping on his foot. Sasuke winced.

"I know. We were waiting for you." She looked at the boy again, this time more clearly. He was obviously sick. The boy smiled. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Shinji," he replied, his voice soft. Sakura nodded and looked back to Ayato.

"Follow me…we can take him to the hospital and then see the Hokage."

Ayato nodded. "When will you be able to see him?" he asked.

"I can look at him after we see Tsunade-sama and before we leave. I can give him some treatment, but once we get back, I can begin a more serious treatment."

Ayato nodded in approval and followed them to the hospital and then to Hokage Tower.


Surprisingly, Tsunade seemed to approve of Ayato. She had made the team stand outside the office as she spoke to him, and about ten minutes later allowed them to enter. Tsunade informed them that she trusted the ninja and told them to hurry and get Naruto back. Sakura smiled in triumph as they left Hokage Tower. Neji and Sasuke, however, glared suspiciously at the boy the whole time. Sai didn't care one way or the other.

"Where are we going?" Neji asked as they left the Tower. They weren't going in the direction of the gates.

"We need to take a quick trip to the hospital, and then we can leave on this mission to retrieve Naruto," she replied. Neji nodded and Sakura lead them into the hospital and to Shinji's room. She peered in to check if he was awake. Shinji noticed her and waved his hand somewhat hesitantly. Sakura smiled and opened the door all the way. She moved to check the monitors and the previous nurse's report. The team and Ayato followed her into the small room.

"How are you feeling, Shinji?" she asked.

"Overwhelmed," he responded with a smile. Sakura laughed and put down the folder she was holding.

"How are you feeling physically?" she clarified. He shrugged.

"Not bad," he paused. "…I think they gave me some pain killers," he added. Sakura nodded. She turned to Ayato.

"The nurse prescribed a drug here that I think will do fine according to her summarization of the problem for the next few days. Once we come back, I can start the real treatment; however, this is fine for now."

Ayato nodded in understanding. Sakura quickly explained the situation to Shinji, and she and Ayato said goodbye for the time being. Once out of the hospital, Sakura made sure everyone was ready before they reached the main gates. She turned to Ayato. "So what's the plan? Where is Naruto?" she asked.

"Well, it's been about three days now. They should have already gotten him to the place they plan to perform the…event. We can get there in about four days, like I said before."

Sasuke moved forward. "Won't Pain know that you've betrayed him? Won't he move this to another location?"

Ayato smiled. "I doubt it. I don't think Pain-sama thinks of me as much of a threat, after all."

"Besides," Sakura said quickly, "as long as it's somewhat close, we should be able to feel Naruto's chakra…he's hard to miss after all. Not to mention, all of Akatsuki will be there. We will definitely be able to feel that."

Everyone seemed to agree with that.

"Okay then," Ayato said. "We ought to get going if we want to make it on time. I took the liberty of making a map of where we are going." He handed the map to Sakura. Sasuke and Neji peered over her shoulders. "So, the sooner the better. Let's go."


A/N: Excellent! Merry Christmas everyone!!! Sorry it took me so freakin long to update this story. I finished before Christmas, but my beta reader was too busy to read this. I should have posted it yesterday I guess, but I forgot. Therefore, this hasn't been proof read, but I can always replace it if I need to. Be happy; it's all for you guys. –grins- I hope this chapter was a good addition. I guess I should work on not writing so many stories and stuff at once, but I just can't help it. As of now, I am writing two one-shots. I hope to add those soon. Please read them! Anyway, as always, if you have any suggestions for the story, don't be shy; I consider everything sent to me. So please review!

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!!