Hello all. I just have something to add. In this fic there will be no Konan, Sasori, or Kakuzu. Either they're too hard or boring to write about. Though Tobi will be here (Again as Obito, not Madara),and Orochimaru will be here too! (Because I like him ..) Anyway on with the masterpiece!

-ѢѢѢ-

It was late the next morning and Sakura glided ever so gracefully through the forests of the Fire country. She hopped softly from tree to tree, her feet making no noise against the hard branches below. She had the biggest smile on her face she'd had in a long time. All of a sudden she burst out laughing earning a questioning noise from inner.

'Guh?'

'Intelligent, very intelligent.' Sakura drawled.

'Okay, better wording. What the hell are you laughing at?'

'I killed Sasuke!' She laughed internally, a seriously maniacal smirk on her lips. 'I actually killed that bratty, egotistical, superiority complex, whiny, son of a bitch, obnoxious, snarky bastard of an Uchiha!'

Inner sweat dropped. 'I don't think I've heard that many adjectives in one sitting from you in my life.'

'Yeah well I suppose you learn things everyday, now don't you?'

Inner rolled her eyes and smirked. 'I suppose you do.'

Sakura giggled and did a twirl in mid air, landing a single foot gracefully on the branch. She jumped down onto the ground below and begun to run on the ground. She stopped in the middle of the clearing and looked around. She ran and hid behind a tree, looking around once more. She then ran hid behind another tree, again looking around. Sakura put on a cautious facade as she begun to sing the Mission Impossible theme song to herself.

'You're retarded.' Inner said deadpanned.

'Oh, you're a silly banana.'

Inner sweat dropped and kicked Sakura in the head from the inside. Sakura rubbed her head and jumped back onto the branches above her. She hopped for a few seconds when she stopped and looked around. "Where's my sword?"

"Oh shit!" Sakura groaned as she dropped down onto the ground. "Okay, if I were a dangerous sword, where would I have dropped myself?"

She ran back to where she was running a few minutes ago and looked around. She crawled through bushes and looked in random rabbit holes. "Where the hell- Oh there it is!" Sakura chirped as she spotted it embedded in a tree a few feet away. She yanked the sword out of the tree, creating a large rip in it. "Huh, I wonder how that happened?" She questioned, nonetheless she skipped off and jumped onto the branches, resuming her previous quest for world domination- I mean her quest for a new life...yeah...new life. Anywho Sakura continued to skip happily through the forest with not a care in the world.

'Have you even thought about were you're going to go?'

Sakura blinked. 'Actually no, I haven't thought about that yet.'

Inner face palmed.

'What? I was horribly traumatized about the whole killing Sasuke thing, I had no time to think about such trivial matters.'

'You little liar!'

'Whatever.' Sakura said. 'Well, we're halfway between both so you have two options. 1, Tea Country or 2, Lightning Country.'

'Ew, screw Lightning.' Inner scoffed. 'Let's go to Tea.'

'Very well then my lovely little accomplice, we shall head to Tea.' Sakura said in a creepy British accent, switching her direction so she was now heading for Tea.

Inner sweat dropped. 'How in the hell did I end up in your head?'

'Oh don't be an idiot.' Sakura said sweetly. 'You love me.'

Inner clawed at the inside of Sakura's head. 'Get me out of here!'

'Welcome to the jungle baby, you're gonna die!' Sakura cackled maniacally.

'Kami help!' Inner cried helplessly.

Sakura smirked to herself as she hopped onto every other branch, challenging herself to not trip and face plant into the rough terrain. After a few hours of fluttering carelessly in the breeze, Sakura grew tired. She looked around trying to find a place where she could make camp. She spotted a conveniently placed cave a few feet away.

"How convenient!" Sakura cheered to herself as she dropped down in front of it. She entered the cave cautiously and looked around.

"Not bad, pretty spacious." Sakura mulled as she walked farther into the cave. She lit a small lighter she had in her pocket to brighten up the place. She sighed with relief when she saw that the cave wasn't already occupied by some creature.

"I should make a fire..." Sakura said to herself. She left the cave to go gather some large rocks and sticks.

'One question.' Inner said deadpanned. 'Why do you have a lighter?'

'A pyromaniac needs some source of fire nearby.'

Inner gulped nervously. 'I'm going to die, I know it.' She cried.

Sakura rolled her eyes. 'You don't even exist, technically, how could you die?'

Inner just blinked, at a loss for words.

Sakura smirked confidently. 'Now who's the retard?'

'Oh shut up and go make that fire.' Inner ordered, currently plotting a way to kill Sakura from the inside.

Sakura did so and started to break off large branches off the trees. 'Oh one more thing Inner, if I die you die.'

'Damn it all!'

Sakura smirked and tossed the branches into the cave. She walked inside the cave and lit the lighter, looking to see if she could see some rocks. She spotted a pile of them over in the corner. She walked over to them and gathered up quite a lot of them with her immense strength. She walked to the back of the cave and threw them on the ground. She knelt on the ground and begun to rearrange the rocks into a small circle. She picked up some of the branches and snapped them into smaller pieces, laying them on the dirt ground in the circle.

"Now for some kindling..." Sakura said to herself.

Sakura left the cave and walked around the area near the cave. Nearby she found a river that had dried out bulrushes on the bank. Sakura sighed happily to herself and pulled large handfuls of the bulrushes into her hands. She carried the hay-like substance back to the cave and laid them on the branches. She took out her lighter and laid it against the bulrushes, instantly setting an inferno.

"Whew, kinda toasty in here." Sakura commented to no one in particular. Suddenly Sakura's stomach started to create some rumbles and grumbles.

She patted her stomach comfortingly. "I'm sorry Bob, I'll get something for you right now."

Sakura once again got up and left the comfort of her beloved cave and went back to the river where she was not even five minutes earlier. She knelt on the river bank and stared into the water, looking to see if there were some fish swimming about. She spotted a small school of fish, consisting of about 6 or so large fish. She pulled a kunai out of her holster and readied her aim. She waited for the correct moment, seeing her opportunity she threw the kunai into the water impaling the largest fish in the school. She dipped her hand into the water and pulled the fish out.

"I'm sorry for doing this Mr. Fish." Sakura apologized as she stuck her thumb into the fish's mouth, breaking its back to prevent it from suffering a death by suffocation. She pulled the kunai out of the fish and wiped it on the grass. She turned to walk away when she caught a flash of black out of the corner of her eyes.

"What the?" Sakura said quietly, turning to what she saw.

On the other side of the bank was a small, chibi-looking penguin desperately trying to catch a fish for himself. Sakura squealed with adorableness and walked on the water and over to the other side of the river. The penguin didn't seem bothered by Sakura and just continued to "fish".

'What the hell is a penguin doing here?' Inner questioned in a deadpanned tone.

'Who cares? It's so cute!' She squealed internally.

'I mean, this is Fire country. It's like internal summer here.' Inner explained. 'How is he surviving?'

Sakura ignored Inner and walked up cautiously to the penguin. "Hey little fella." She cooed.

The penguin looked up at her with huge, sad eyes that made Sakura melt. Sakura held her fish out in front of her. "Do you want to travel with me?" She asked the penguin with a smile.

The penguin seemed to understand what Sakura was saying and walked up to her side, rubbing against her leg. Sakura let out an attempted suppressed squeal. She picked him up and cuddled him against her cheek.

"I'm going to call you Linus!" She cheered. The penguin let out a purr-like noise and cuddled into her embrace. Sakura walked across the water and back over to the other side of the river. She walked back over to her cave and placed Linus next to her on the ground. She stuck the fish onto a stick she found on her way back and roasted it over the fire like a marshmallow.

'Are you seriously going to keep him?'

'Of course I am.'

'But it's just extra weight.'

'No he's not. He can aid me in my battles.' Sakura argued.

Inner face palmed. 'How can that little thing aid you in battles?'

'He could have a hidden ability.'

'What? Chibi attack?'

'I think that would be useful.'

'You're an idiot.'

'You're morbidly obese!'

Inner blinked and face palmed. 'Just...just stop talking.'

Sakura removed the fish from the flames and broke off a few pieces, handing them to the hungry Linus. She giggled at the adorable way the small penguin ate. She stuffed a few pieces in her mouth, her mind wandering.

'I wonder what I'll do when I get to Tea?' Sakura pondered, playing with the dirt beneath her hand. 'Maybe I'll get a job.'

Linus finished his fish off and pawed on Sakura's arm, begging for more. She smiled and handed the stick with the rest of the fish to Linus. He made happy noises as he munched happily on the meat.

'Judging by where I am I should reach the Tea border in about a week...'

Sakura got up off the ground and walked outside to set up traps for the evening. She walked out at a thirty meter radius and set up ten different traps. Once she was sure the traps were properly set, she walked back to the cave.

"Let's get some sleep Linus, we have a long journey tomorrow." Sakura announced, lying at the back of the cave, head painfully placed atop a large rock.

Linus waddled up and snuggled into Sakura's chest. Sakura wrapped her arms around Linus and closed her eyes, gently falling to sleep. The gentle lull of the cicadas eased Sakura's flustered mind, temporarily clearing her of her troubles.

-ѢѢѢ-

The call of a faraway rooster awoke the soundly sleeping Sakura and Linus. Sakura sat up and stretched, She yawned and revealed her pearly white fangs. Linus did his own little stretch and climbed into Sakura's lap. Sakura pat the penguin's head and held him in her arms. She stood up and walked over to the entrance of cave. She looked up at the sky noting that it was pink and just getting light out.

"Stupid rooster..." Sakura mumbled angrily to herself.

Nonetheless Sakura walked sleepily to where the traps were set and carefully disabled each one. She gathered up the disabled traps and stuffed them into her backpack to save for another stop. She held Linus up to her face.

"Would you like me to get you some snacks for the road?"

Linus made noises of approval and snuggled in closer to Sakura. She smiled at his silly antics and made her way over to the river she was at yesterday. She looked around for some fish and spotted a school of large fish, she estimated that there was about twelve of them. She took out twelve kunai and readied them. She waited for the correct moment, believing it was time she threw the kunai into the water, accurately impaling the fish. Sakura set Linus aside and pulled each fish out one by one, breaking their backs and laying them on the grass beside her. A minute or so later all twelve fish were successfully killed and laying in a small pile beside her. Sakura pulled out an empty storage scroll and opened it up, dropping each fish inside. Sakura saved out a small one for Linus's breakfast. She held out the fish to Linus, who took it and munched on it happily. Sakura smiled softly at the adorable creature and picked him up in her arms. She walked back over to the cave and begun to gather up her belongings. She stuffed her cooking supplies and soldier pills back in her bag and slipped it on her back. She grabbed the bucket of water on the edge of the cave and poured it over what little bit of fire was left, ceasing the flames. She then picked up her sword and slipped it onto her back, making sure it was secure so she wouldn't lose it anymore. She lastly cleaned up any trace she would've left behind. She looked around and made sure everything was in order; once she was sure she exited the cave and set Linus on her shoulder.

"Better hang on tight Linus, the ride's going to get rough." Sakura told the little penguin. He did so and wrapped one flipper around her neck and the other held on tightly to her hitai-ate.

Sakura jumped up on to the branches above her and gracefully, but quickly glided through the thick forests. She jumped from branch to branch, deep in thought.

'I wonder what I should do once I get to Tea...' Sakura pondered, slightly distraught.

'Maybe you should've thought about that before you did such extreme things.' Inner scoffed.

Sakura internally sighed. 'Okay fine, I was stupid. You win.'

'Thank you.' Inner said with a smug grin.

Sakura rolled her eyes. 'Now that that's settled, what should I do?'

Inner thought in silence for a few moments. 'Well, maybe you should get a job in an Inn or something. Say you're just a traveller who needs a job.'

Sakura nodded. 'That's an idea. But Tea is lenient with criminals so maybe I wouldn't have to lie and pretend to be a traveller.'

'I suppose.'

'I guess I'll just be waitress at a restaurant or innkeeper or something.'

'Ahh~ I wonder if you'll get to wear a cute outfit?' Inner sighed blissfully.

'Actually I hope I do.'

Inner giggled and Sakura smirked. Sakura was quiet for most of the trip but she looked around every once in a while. Inner took note of it after an hour or two.

'What's the matter?'

'It may just be my paranoia for being caught, but it seems like something's watching me.'

'How long have you had this feeling?'

'Ever since we left the cave.'

Inner hummed. 'Maybe it is paranoia. Do you sense anyone?'

'Not really...'

'Just be on your guard, just in case.'

Sakura nodded wearily and kept her attention on the forests ahead of her. Sakura was silent for a few moments until she thought of some names for her sword.

'Inner, I need your opinion.'

'What on?'

'I've narrowed it down to two names for my sword, Itami or Kuu. Which do you like?'

Inner thought for a few moments. 'I like Itami better.'

Sakura smiled. 'I liked that better too.'

'It's a lot better name than Linus. The poor creature.' Inner said in sorrowful tone.

'Hey! I think it's cute.'

'Whatever. Why do people name their weapons anyway?'

Sakura blinked. 'Actually, I have no idea.'

'Not that it's stupid, it's just strange.'

'Well, in the lonely life of a shinobi I suppose that giving names to your weaponry gives you a sort of a companion feeling.'

'That does make a lot of sense...' Inner hummed. 'Finally you say something logical.'

Sakura scoffed. 'Thanks for boosting my self esteem.'

'You're welcome.' Inner teased.

Sakura rolled her eyes and pressed on into the thick wilderness.

-ѢѢѢ-

Tsunade sat wearily at her desk, her head in her hands. Shizune stood beside her, head hanging low. Tsunade let out a frustrated sigh.

"I can't believe it."

"Tsunade-sama..."

Tsunade slammed a sake bottle on her desk. "She killed off one of the last remaining of the Uchiha clan and she's left the village." She mumbled with disdain.

"I didn't know she was so depressed..." Shizune said quietly.

Tsunade sighed one more as she belted back a shot of the sake. "Now we have to go search for her and arrest her for homicide."

Shizune looked wearily at her master. "How do we know where she is?"

"We just have to look for her."

Shizune held on tighter to Ton Ton, who was in her arms. "But she could've gone anywhere, it will take forever to search everywhere."

"I guess we'll just have to be patient."

Shizune sighed softly. "She was our top medic too..."

Tsunade angrily belted back another shot. "I know."

Shizune put Ton Ton on Tsunade's desk. "I'll go prepare another search team."

Shizune bowed and left the room, leaving Tsunade to her liquor and misery. She played with the cup and stared sadly at the floor. 'Oh Sakura...'

-ѢѢѢ- [Minor time skip ~ a week]-ѢѢѢ-

Sakura was sitting in a tree just outside the Tea Country border. It was a lovely warm, windy day and Sakura was enjoying the peaceful silence.

'Should we head in now?' Inner asked.

Sakura sighed happily. 'I suppose.'

Sakura jumped down from the branch and landed gracefully on the ground. She walked slowly along the dirt path that lead into the country, the warm wind blowing her hair all around making her giggle. Sakura looked discreetly out of the corner of her eye.

'It's that damn feeling again.'

'You're still having that feeling?' Inner questioned.

'Yeah, but I don't sense or see anyone.'

'Maybe it is paranoia.'

'Even if someone is stalking me, I'm not worried about it.'

Inner smirked. 'It's close to impossible to defeat you.'

Sakura laughed internally. 'So very true.'

The two were quiet for a few minutes when Inner spoke up. 'What if it's him?'

Sakura's eyes narrowed. 'No, it's not him. I would be able to sense him no matter what.'

'How are you sure?'

'Whoever or whatever it is, they're near enough if it were him I'd be able to sense him.' Sakura said. 'They're far away, but not too far away for my senses.'

Inner just nodded as she crossed into Tea Country. There were short grassed fields on both of her sides and a dirt path that seemed to go on forever.

'At least now you can tell if anyone's following you.' Inner said from within Sakura's mind.

Sakura nodded. 'It's all flat land here so I'll be able to see everything.'

Then Sakura let out a small laugh. 'But I've always been crazy, maybe I'm just imagining things.'

'Whatever. It'd be a lot better if it was just you being crazy.'

'Then you'd feel less safe, right?' Sakura replied with a smirk.

Inner sweat dropped. 'Good point.'

Suddenly Linus stirred from his sleep and started to make whine-like noises. Sakura held him out in front of her. "What's that matter, are you hungry?" She asked the little penguin. He seemed to nod so Sakura set him back on her shoulder and pulled the storage scroll full of fish from her backpack. She unrolled it and pulled out a small fish, handing it to the greedy creature. She smiled softly at the cutie munch on it happily. She rolled the scroll back up and stuffed it back into her backpack, pressing on in her quest for a village.

-XXX-

After an hour or two of walking Sakura had come to a stop. The single road she was on split into three separate roads. She frowned slightly.

'They could at least put up a sign.' Sakura said in an annoyed tone. 'Which one should we take, Inner?'

Inner thought for a moment. 'Take the one on the very left.'

Sakura smirked. 'Left hand path, very smart thinking.'

Sakura turned and started walking down the left hand road. The road was the same as the main road, fields but this road had a single row of trees along the edge of the road. She looked up to the treetops and saw birds frolicking together in the air. Sakura sighed happily, this was the first time she'd finally felt free in forever.

-ѢѢѢ-

After a few hours of walking, Sakura had arrived at a small town that looked like something out of a western movie. It seemed pretty empty which caused Sakura to think if there was anyone even in the town. Sakura walked down the middle of the road and spotted an Inn called 'Kaede' farther down. She picked up her pace and approached the Inn. She was shocked to see it was decently crowded. Sakura smirked to herself when she saw a 'Help Wanted' sign in the window. 'How convenient.' She thought with a smile. She pushed open the doors and walked up to a young girl at the desk. The girl had shoulder length brown hair with a single blue bow on the side of her head. The girl had dark pink eyes and a pale complexion. The girl smiled at Sakura, so in turn Sakura smiled back.

"How can I help you?" She asked sweetly.

"I saw your sign out front." Sakura replied just as sweet. "I'm a traveller and I need a job."

The girl smiled. "With a pretty face like yours you'll attract a lot of customers."

Sakura blushed and smiled. "Thank you." She said sheepishly.

The girl held out her hand to Sakura. "I'm Minami."

Sakura took her hand gracefully. "I'm Sakura." She said with a soft smile.

Minami grinned. "Well Sakura-san, it'd be my pleasure to give you a job."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Really?"

Minami nodded. "Come with me."

Sakura followed Minami up the stairs behind the desk. The stairs lead to a long hallway where the rooms people would stay in were. Minami lead Sakura to a room down the hall marked 'Employees Only'. Sakura followed Minami into what looked like a lounge. Minami turned to Sakura with a small smile.

"First we have to get you a uniform." She said, looking Sakura over. "You look like a small to me."

Minami went into a room in the back and came out a few minutes later with a knee length gothic lolita style dress and a dark green apron with 'Kaede' embroidered in gold across the chest. The dress was black and had t-shirt length puffed sleeves, complete with small black lacy bows. There was a lighter black silk sash tied around her waist, much like an obi, and ended in a large bow at her lower back. The skirt portion puffed out and would swish around Sakura's thighs. She handed over the clothing to Sakura, who took them happily.

"They're so cute!" Sakura cooed.

Minami nodded, who had the exact same uniform on. "I designed the uniform myself."

"They're splendid!"

Minami grinned. "You can change in there." She said, pointing to a small bathroom across the room.

Sakura started to walk away before Minami called out to her. "One question, why do you have such a dangerous looking weapon?"

Sakura sweat dropped. "I am a ninja after all."

Minami nodded as Sakura walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. While inside, Sakura slipped off her backpack and laid it on the counter. She opened it up and saw Linus lying in her many scrolls and items sleeping. She smiled and took him out, sitting him on the counter. She took Itami off her back and put it in its own storage scroll, as to not damage anything. She put the scroll with Itami into her backpack. She slid off her ninja outfit and put the clothing into her backpack along with her hitai-ate. Before anyone could burst through the door and see her in her bra and panties, Sakura quickly slipped on the dress, adjusting it on her body. She blushed at herself in mirror. "Kya~ I'm so cute!" Sakura cooed to herself. Putting that aside, Sakura slipped on the apron and tied it securely behind her. She looked herself over, blushing at how adorable she thought she was. Sakura took out a black ribbon from her backpack and tied her hair into a high messy ponytail. She gave herself a final approving nod and gathered up her stuff, and Linus. She walked out of the bathroom and did a twirl in front of Minami.

"How does it look, Minami-san?"

Minami clasped her hands together. "You look so pretty!"

Sakura smiled and blushed. "Thanks."

Minami squealed and approached Sakura. "Who's this adorable little guy?"

"This is Linus, I found him while I was travelling."

Minami stroked Linus' head, causing him to let out a purr-like noise. "He's so cute!"

Sakura smiled. "He is."

Minami gave Linus a final pat and stood back. "Let's get you acquainted with the place."

Sakura nodded and followed Minami back down the stairs and down to the desk. She walked up to the small antique looking cash register with a book beside it with many peoples' names in it.

"It all pretty simple. When someone comes to rent a room, just ask for how many and for how long." Minami explained. "Then write it down in the book along with the time and number of people. Just be sure to check properly for empty rooms before you assign one."

Sakura nodded. "The keys to the rooms are on this wall." Minami said, pointing to the wall of many keys behind them. "It's twenty ryo a night, so just punch that into the register times the amount of days they're here."

Sakura nodded. "Which rooms are singles, and which ones have more than one?"

"Oh yes." Minami said, pulling out a piece of paper from under the desk. "This has each room number along with the amount of beds."

Sakura smiled and took the paper from her, slipping it into the pocket of her apron. "Do you run this Inn by yourself?"

Minami scratched the side of her head. "Yeah. I used to run it with my sister, but she left."

Sakura looked at the somehow sadder Minami. "What happened if you don't mind me asking...?"

Minami laughed nervously. "My sister was a rebel. She left with some bandits that passed through here last year."

"Oh..." Sakura said, fiddling with the hem of her apron.

Minami laughed it off. "But, I've been pulling through alright on my own."

Sakura smiled. "Don't you ever rest?"

Minami shook her head. "We're open twenty four seven."

Sakura choked. "You don't sleep?"

Minami shook her head. "I meditate while I work, it helps with the dreariness."

"Well hopefully I'll take a load off for you." Sakura said with a sweet smile.

Minami grinned. "I'm very grateful someone is here to help."

Sakura nodded as Minami leaned against the desk. "Tell me about the life of a shinobi."

Sakura blinked. "You want to know what it's like?"

Minami nodded. Sakura leaned against the desk too, tapping her fingertips on the desk. "A shinobi's life is short, we never know when we might be sent out to our deaths."

"Sent out?"

Sakura nodded. "Shinobi are sent out on missions that are assigned to us by the leaders of our village. The missions are different ranks, the higher your status the higher and more dangerous your missions are."

"Status?"

"Yes, we have ranks. The lowest are Genin. Genin are usually kids who are training to become better shinobi. Next rank up is Chuunin. Chuunin are usually teens and is the rank which a lot of shinobi are. Next rank up is Jounin. Jounin are the highest level of shinobi and are usually older and they are very strong. Jounin are usually the sensei of teams of Genin and Chuunin. The highest rank you can get is the title of Kage, which are the leaders of the villages."

Minami eyes sparkled anime style. "That's fascinating." She cooed. "What rank are you?"

"I'm a Chuunin." Sakura said confidently.

"Ahh, really?"

Sakura nodded and smiled. "The exam to become a Chuunin was brutal."

"What did you have to do?"

"Take a regular exam that was based off causing you psychological torture, spend three days in the Forest of Death, then battle your friends and foreign shinobi twice where killing is allowed." She explained in a slightly deadpanned tone.

"You must be really strong." Minami said with awe.

Sakura giggled and rubbed the back of her head. "I was one of the top ranking ninja and medics in my village."

Minami's eyes sparkled again. "You're a medic too?"

Sakura nodded with a confident smile on her lips.

"What village were you from?"

"Konohagakure."

"Oooh, I've heard about Konoha shinobi." Minami said with awe. "I heard they're the toughest shinobi around.

"I suppose so."

"So you're top ranking in a village full of bad asses, I'm so impressed." Minami cooed.

Sakura grinned. "You are?"

Minami nodded furiously. "I wanted to become a ninja, but my Mother said it would be safer as a citizen."

"Your Mother was right, it's dangerous to be a shinobi. Being a citizen is a lot safer."

Minami nodded. "But it's part of a shinobi's job to protect citizens, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Correct. One of our top priorities is to ensure the safety of our villagers."

Minami sighed blissfully. "It must be so exciting."

Then Minami gaped. "But you said you were a traveller, were you originally from Konoha or something?"

Sakura gulped internally. "Well, I decided to leave my village." She replied sheepishly.

"Really? Why?"

"I was bored." Sakura explained. "I was hardly being sent out on any missions and all I got was disrespect from my friends and team mates."

Minami frowned slightly. "That's not good."

"I'm a lot happier now being on the road. I get to see places now, I'm finally free."

Minami sighed. "I wish I could go on adventures, like my sister is probably doing."

"Have you been here your whole life?"

Minami shook her head. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I can't remember anything of my life from under the age of ten." She explained. "I could've been here, or I could've been from somewhere else. I wouldn't know."

Sakura hummed. "That's interesting..."

"Sometimes I sit and think about things like that." She said somewhat sadly. "Like where I was from or who I was or if the people I call my family are really my family."

"It must be lonely."

Minami laughed lightly. "Not really. I make lots of friends with passers by so I don't have a lot of time to think about it."

Sakura smiled. "You're quite the trooper aren't you, Minami-san?"

Minami laughed. "I suppose I am."

The two giggled when suddenly the bell on the front door jingled. The two looked to the front to see a young man that looked about sixteen walk in. He had messy shoulder length black hair and deep crimson eyes. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt and black pants with a black overcoat. Attached to his back were two katanas and a small backpack. Sakura blushed as he approached the two girls, a gorgeous smile in place. Minami nudged Sakura, whispering a good luck.

"Welcome." Sakura said sweetly, trying to force her blush down.

The young man grinned sensually at her. "I'd like to rent a room please." He asked in a smooth voice that made her want to squeal, faint, blush or all of the above.

"Very well." Sakura replied, hiding her fangirlness. "May I have your name?"

"Tomitake Tetsuya." He said with a sparkly smile.

Sakura couldn't help but blush. "Just you?"

He nodded. "Just me."

Sakura smiled sweetly. "How long will you be needing to stay?"

"Just for tonight." He replied, matching her sweet tone.

"Very well then, that will be twenty ryo please."

Tetsuya rummaged through his pocket and pulled out twenty ryo, handing it over to Sakura. Sakura smiled softly at him and handed the key to room number eight to Tetsuya.

"Enjoy your stay." Sakura said softly, but sweetly.

He nodded and grinned at her, walking up to the stairs where Minami was ushering him to go. After he was up the stairs and down the hall, Minami approached Sakura.

"He was hot wasn't he?" Sakura squealed lightly.

Minami nodded and giggled. "He was delicious!"

Sakura giggled girlishly as Minami looked towards the window. "It's getting pretty late, would you like to go to sleep?"

Sakura blinked at her. "I'm okay, you're the one who should be getting some sleep."

"Nonsense." Minami chirped. "You've been travelling, you need to rest up."

"But Minami-san..."

"No buts." Minami said with a smile. "Go to room twelve, it's reserved for workers."

"Are you sure?"

Minami nodded. "Go."

Sakura looked weary but bowed to Minami, saying her good nights and walked up the stairs. She walked down the hall and went to the Employee's lounge and grabbed her stuff. She exited the lounge and headed for room twelve. She fiddled with the key before sliding it into the lock, turning it and entering the room. The room was pretty lavish and had a soft crème colour scheme. She smiled as she locked the door behind her and set her backpack on the bed. Sakura rummaged around for her clothing storage scroll in her backpack. She found it in a few moments and unrolled it, feeling around in it for her pyjamas. She found her dark blue silk pyjamas after a few minutes and laid them neatly on her bed. Sakura rolled the scroll back up and placed it back in her bag. She untied and pulled off her apron, laying it neatly on the bed followed by the dress. She then slipped into her pyjamas, adjusting it on her body. She picked up her uniform and laid the items carefully on a small chair on the other side of the room. Sakura slipped into the bed and turned off the lights as Linus came up and laid beside her, snuggling in close. Sakura smiled to herself as she slowly started to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

-X Meanwhile somewhere near the Inn x-

The infamous leader of the notorious organization known as the Akatsuki sat smirking in a tree with his partner, a plant man, called Zetsu.

"She knew we were following her." He said with hardly any emotion in his voice.

"When do you plan on recruiting her, Leader-sama?"

"In good time, Zetsu." He replied. "I would still like to observe her a bit more."

Zetsu nodded and seeped into the ground, most likely heading back to the Akatsuki's main base in Ame.

The moonlight illuminated the many piercings the man had making each one glisten. His smirked deepened. "She will be a great asset to us."

-ѢѢѢ-

Sakura awoke the next morning feeling better than ever. She yawned and stretched, causing Linus to roll off her lap and land softly on the bed beside her. She giggled and picked him up, sitting him right side up. She slid out of bed and walked over to the chair on the other side of the room and picked up her uniform. Sakura removed her pyjamas and replaced them with the dress, gently tying the apron securely around her small waist. She pulled her hair into a high messy ponytail with the same black ribbon she used the day previous. She then walked back over to the bed and pulled on her shoes, the high heels making no noise on the floor beneath her. She adjusted her uniform and placed her pyjamas in the storage scroll, sliding that back into her backpack. Sakura set the backpack on the chair and picked up Linus, leaving the room and locking the door securely behind her. She slipped the room key into her pocket and continued on down the hall. Suddenly a presence made her stop in her tracks.

'It's him...' Sakura thought in disbelief and anger

Then it hit her. 'Tetsuya!'

Inner gaped. 'It was him, wasn't it?'

Sakura bit her lip. 'He used his power on me.'

Sakura headed for room number eight, a menacing aura surrounding her.

-ѢѢѢ-

Because you all had to wait so long, I made the chapter really long. I think it's the longest I've written. Anyway, Sakura will be joining the Akatsuki either next chapter or the chapter after that. Probably the chapter after the next, but we'll have to see. Thanks for reading, R&R!