Summary: Resulting in a failed mission in order to bring Sasuke back, Sai had been kidnapped and experimented on by Orochimaru. When all attempts to find him fail and he is presumed dead, Sakura puts it in her own hands to find him and bring him back alive. However, recovering Sai half alive wasn't her only problem. It seems that both Sasuke and Orochimaru did something to Sai that standard healing cannot fix. Mpreg
Chapter One: Discovery
Sakura nearly tripped over her shoes when she got up that morning trying to turn off her alarm clock. Angrily, when she reached over the nightstand and nearly pounded the small clock turning it off. When that annoying beeping stopped, she finally retreated back into her warm cozy bed and snoozed for ten short minutes.
She also thought about things for instance, what Tsunade had in store for her that day. All the troublesome and tiresome work that she would be forced to do. She also tricked herself into thinking that Lee was home, when in fact he was still on a mission so technically she was alone. Naruto would no doubt be training with Kakashi and Yamato as usual, she would be kept out of their adventures. And then of course, there was Sai...
Sai.
She tried not to think of it. She tried not to think that it was actually her fault that Sai was missing, both her fault and Naruto's. The two sacrificed Sai's life to rescue Sasuke and in the end, it came backfiring back not on them, but on Sai. He had to pay the price for their selfishness and in the end, it really seemed like Sakura was the only one out of their team who cared. Of course, that was for more reasons than one. Firstly, she had perhaps lost the trust and respect of her best friend, Ino. She knew for a while how Ino really felt about Sai, whether or not Sai returned the feelings was a mystery. Regardless of if he did or not, Ino absolutely despised Sakura and Naruto and Sakura didn't blame her.
However, as much as she valued her friendship with Ino, that wasn't the main she still cared. Amongst all the evidence that the higher jounin presented to the Hokage claiming that Sai was dead, Sakura still believed that he was alive.
Sakura didn't want to lose another teammate, or, she didn't want to lose a teammate that actually deserved to be a part of Team Seven. No matter how she looked at it, no matter how much she tried to sugar coat it, Sai was more valuable to Team Seven than Sasuke. Naruto would disagree strongly with it, but she didn't care.
Ten minutes had passed, or near ten minutes.
Sakura forced her sleepy self out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. Taking a thirty minutes shower and brushing her teeth, she then stepped out of the bathroom and dressed herself.
Walking down the upstairs hallway she peeked into Lee's room and not surprisingly, he wasn't there. Sighing, she went down to the kitchen and ate what little breakfast she had from the previous morning. She drank a bit of juice to help her food go down and before she knew it, she was heading out the door with even more guilt than before.
Sakura, as usual bumped into Naruto. By now, those interaction were inevitable. However, as time progressed, these meetings became short and hardly ever did they have a lasting conversation.
Strangely though that day, Naruto seemed to notice Sakura's detachment from things around her, and of course the guilt on her face.
"Sakura chan!" Naruto yelled from a far off distance, running towards her. She looked ahead and forced a smile as he stopped right in front of her.
"Naruto." She breathed. "I thought you'd be training with Yamato and Kakashi Sensei today."
"Yeah I am, I'm on my way now."
"Oh." She sounded less than pleased. "Well I suppose I should be on my way then as well. I'll see you whenever."
Sakura took a step past Naruto but he softly grabbed her arm. She then looked at her, finally noticing the pained expression on her face.
"Is it Sasuke?" He asked, without even mentioned Sai's abduction.
In anger, Sakura pulled away and retorted, "I was actually thinking about Sai.".
Naruto grinned a bit and crossed his arms. "If you ask me, things are a lot better with him gone. He's a pain in the ass. The only thing terrible about that missions was that we didn't get the real member of Team Seven back, and that's Sasuke."
Sakura paused, thought for a second and pursed her lips. "I have nothing left to say to you Naruto. I'm not sure what's gotten into you but you should be ashamed of yourself. Sai was more of a member to our team than Sasuke...than Sasuke ever was and ever will be." And with that, she left. She didn't care that Naruto was trying to get her attention, she didn't care that she had spoken bad about Sasuke, she only made her way to the Hokage's tower in nothing but rage and anger.
Upon entering Tsunade's office, Sakura felt somewhat of an uneasy shift in the room. Something seemed different, it just didn't seem right. While sunlight splashed into the tower there seemed to be a morbid presence hanging about. Breathing in deeply, Sakura spoke softly.
"Sorry I'm late Lady Tsunade."
The woman at the other end of the desk looked up from her paperwork and gave Sakura a less than pleased glare. "You aren't late." She spoke coldly. "You are actually on time."
As usual, rummaging through reports sat Iruka, next to Tsunade. He seemed more relaxed than he had been other days, but nevertheless he too carried an air of secrecy.
"On time for what?" The question didn't come out the way Sakura wanted it to, in fact it sounded rather childish.
"Iruka, please hand me the description." And without really even looking at Tsunade, the chunnin handed her a red piece of paper. Tsunade read over it once or twice before placing it face down and glaring at Sakura again.
"Under no circumstances, shall you tell anyone about the mission you are about to receive." Sakura nodded, almost too afraid to speak.
"Before I go into too many details, I want you to know that Sai, is alive." Tsunade managed as she handed Sakura the red slip of paper.
Sakura felt her heart pump faster than usual and inevitably, a smile grew on her face. This caused Tsunade to lightly chuckle.
"Well that made you happy." The elder woman spoke, rubbing her head.
"Yes Tsunade." Sakura spoke, trying to contain her happiness. "Please go on." The young ninja had so many questions to ask, she was so curious but she kept her mouth shut and allowed Tsunade to continue.
"Your happiness is going to be short lived, Sakura. While our sources have confirmed that Sai is alive, he was found and spotted in one of Orochimaru's bases."
"What?" Sakura felt her heart skip a beat even though she knew that if anywhere, that's where he would be spotted. After all, that's where he was abandoned, wasn't it? Sakura wasn't sure if Tsunade knew that bit.
"And you know the problem with that, don't you? Orochimaru is always moving bases."
Sakura nodded under Tsunade's glare, not very sure where the conversation was going. "The paper you're holding has every detail you need. It also has the exact location of the base and on top of that, when the base is going to be relocated. That being said, you should get going_"
"Wait what?" Sakura sounded shocked. "Where is my team? Where is Naruto, Kakashi-Sensei and Captain_"
"Training Naruto. Later on today, those three are going on a D-ranked mission." Tsunade smiled. "Meaning that you're going on a solo, rescue mission."
"Alone!" Sakura then looked to Iruka for help who cleared his throat and spoke.
He sat up straight and smiled at Sakura. "At first," He began. "When I heard that Tsunade assigned you to this mission, I strongly voiced my doubts. I was worried for many reasons. One being that you haven't really ever performed a solo mission in your life. Secondly, and I won't go without saying that I feel guilty, I compared you to Naruto. We both know that you are not as strong as Naruto and above all, nobody in this room is. However, I believe that you have strengths, you have many strengths Sakura. While you may doubt yourself, I do not doubt you. As much as it pains me to say this, you are not the little girl that I taught in my academy class. You are now a fully matured kunoichi and despite your doubts and anyone elses, you are fully capable of completing this mission on your own." Iruka paused to really look at Sakura.
Even if she didn't speak, he could still read her eyes. They were big bright and filled with happiness. "Thank you..." She softly spoke.
"And above all Sakura, you are the only one who cared for Sai at least the only one on your Team." He crossed his arms. "It disappoints me that Naruto cares little for his own comrade. But getting back on topic, you are the only one who believes that Sai is still alive. You have hope that he is alive, so do you have hope in yourself?"
Caught off guard by the question, Sakura quickly nodded. "Yes!" And how could she not, after everything Iruka had just said? "I believe that I am fully capable."
"Good." Tsunade filled in from there. "Both of you. Now that we've gotten the bonding out of the way, Sakura please listen carefully." And once again, the air in the room shifted.
"This mission is top secret, under no circumstances are you to tell anyone of your whereabouts, clear?" Sakura nodded and gulped.
"If I may ask...why is it so secretive."
"Because what has happened to Sai is...he should be dead, but he is not. Somehow he managed to pull through, however not on his own will. If he is alive, after everything he's been through, then Orochimaru wants him to be alive for a purpose. When or if you retrieve Sai, we will decide his whereabouts then but as for now, just find him."
"I won't fail." Sakura assured. "And I will be sure to bring him back. I'm not losing another teammate!"
She excused herself and left both Tsuande and Iruka there alone.
"You are wise Iruka." The Hokage boldly spoke.
"Thank you_" "You should have chosen better for yourself. Kakashi is an idiot."
Iruka chuckled. "I can't disagree on you there. But I was an idiot too I guess, but I was only sixteen. I wasn't thinking straight."
"Neither are most of these ninja, but Sakura has her work cut out for her. She's brave, smart and talented and she won't let simple distractions get in her way. Let's say for instance, Sasuke." Tsunade smiled. "I think we chose the right person for the job.''
I'm sorry, I didn't BETA this...But I hope you like it. Please review, read, fave...etc. And I don't own Naruto.