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Happy Reading!

Naruto is not mine. This plot is.

I came, I saw, I conquered; I'm left here bleeding, oh what went wrong? I'm down but not out and far from done…

Tsunade sighed heavily as she leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the wide-window that stood behind her desk, looking over Konoha. A crumpled piece of paper was clutched tightly in her fist.

A light knock sounded and she turned slightly to nod to Shizune who quietly slipped in, shutting the door behind her. Shizune looked at her blonde friend slowly, concerned and slightly panicked as she noticed that for once, the office was completely clear of any sake bottles.

"What's wrong Tsunade-Sama, what's happened?" she asked tentatively, going to sit down in the chair across from the desk. Tsunade just stood at the window in silence for a few long minutes. Then, slowly she turned and returned to her chair, tossing the worn piece of parchment onto the table. Shizune's eyes narrowed as she glanced at it, wondering if it could be what had her mistress all worked up.

"What is it?" she asked again, her dark eyes finally coming to rest on Tsunade's pale face as she slowly rested her forehead in her palm, breathing deeply. Shizune shifted in her chair. She didn't know why, but ever since two weeks before, Tsunade had been surprisingly sober and detached from everyone. It was beginning to scare the young kunoichi because she couldn't figure out why.

Tsunade just sighed, and began rubbing her sore temples with both hands.

"It's a letter from Hatake Kakashi, sent by one of his messenger dogs about two weeks ago."

"What! Kakashi's finally sent something? Well, what did it say, did he succeed, are they coming home? Is Naruto okay!" Shizune practically jumped out of her chair at the news and quickly grabbed the piece of paper, attempting to smooth it out on the table in front of her. Her eyes scanned the page eagerly, but she was disappointed when she realized that the paper was so worn that the ink had begun to fade and smudge severely. No doubt it was from the way Tsunade had been reading it over and over to see if it was real.

The note was gently pried from her grasp and she glanced up to see Tsunade staring at her with tired eyes. She frowned, wondering what else was wrong. After all, Tsunade should be bursting with happiness if Kakashi had finally sent some news to them, especially if it meant they were coming home!

"Why do you look like that Tsunade? Shouldn't we be happy? Actually," she stood up, suddenly remembering something, "We should tell Sakura! She'll be ecstatic!"

Tsunade just shook her head slowly.

"No Shizune, that's not it. I feel like I've done something terribly wrong. Sakura will probably not be ecstatic at all when she figures it out or anything remotely close to it…"

Shizune's eyes dropped and she sat back down, concerned about her lady's somber tone. "What's happened now? What have you done?"

"Kakashi sent this letter two weeks ago, informing me that he has succeeded in his mission and will be returning to Konoha with both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

She paused, staring at the note as if trying to reread it in its crumpled heap.

"That's good isn't it?" Shizune pushed, wondering just where the Godaime was headed. Not really sure if she was enjoying the direction.

"Perhaps if it were under different circumstances, this would be wonderful news; but it seems we've been hoping for too long and now there are problems we've seemed to have overlooked."

She pulled out two thick files from one of her drawers and dropped them onto the desk with a dull thud. On each of the file covers was a picture of a young boy. One with sunshine yellow hair and bright, mischievous blue eyes grinned back at her, the name Uzumaki Naruto written neatly across the bottom. The other file had the photo of a handsome young boy with spiky jet hair and deep, black eyes. Uchiha Sasuke was written neatly at the bottom. Shizune stared at them for a minute, wondering what was going on until her eyes finally took in the bigger picture.

"Oh god, they're ranked as Missing-Nin." She breathed, falling heavily into her chair, her eyes taking in the ugly red slash marks that adorned the faces on the photos. She had completely forgotten…forgotten that Naruto had disobeyed the word of the Hokage and immediately left the village without permission, chasing after his best friend.

"Exactly. This means that according to the laws of the village, no missing-nin should ever be allowed back into the city freely. If not killed on sight, the rouge-nin is to be taken into custody and tried for their crimes. Only then will they be judged." She recited in a clipped tone.

"We must follow through with the rules."

Shizune tensed at this, and her head snapped up warily, yet she already knew the answer.

"And what's Sakura got to do with this?" she whispered. Tsunade turned away in her chair, her gaze fixed out towards the town and the faraway gates leading into the forest. It was dark outside, the only light coming from the full moon and only a few city lights.

"I sent Sakura's team to retrieve them."

Sakura's head reeled as she gazed into the faces of three people whom she was positive she would never see ever again. Their tired eyes looked at her expectantly, their stance was loose and they looked ready to collapse if they stopped. She mentally cursed her teacher.

Oh Tsunade, my lovely mentor, wait until I get my hands on you!

Thankfully, they couldn't see anything past the white ANBU mask and heavy cloak, her bright hair carefully tucked away under her hood, secured with the red scarf, because if they did see her now, she was sure that there would be completely different reactions to the ones she saw now. Her heart beat a little quicker as she watched her old teacher and friend, Kakashi, step towards her and inclined his head.

"I'm guessing you're here to meet us?" he asked quietly. His one black eye scorched her, and she was almost positive that he could see right through her mask.

Sighing, she literally had to force herself to remain steady as his cool voice washed over her. It was much more painful to hear than she imagined. She nodded to him, and her green eyes began to drift around to the other familiar faces of the two men who stood behind Kakashi.

The light danced across their forms like fire, casting them into and out of shadow. But, the things she did manage to see of them were enough to make her want to scream.

I can't believe it…they're alive! After all this time of rumors and dead hope, they're here…

But unfortunately, her inner happiness was short lived. As she took in Naruto's spiky blonde, sunshine-yellow hair and sky-blue eyes and Sasuke's jet-black stare, the realization of just who exactly stood before her hit.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as everything clicked into place and she cursed.

Damn you Tsunade! Damn you to hell! You knew and still you sent me, of all the people in ANBU!

Before her stood not one, but two missing-nin of Hidden Leaf, and even though part of her mind fought desperately to just ignore it and bring them home, the other, more logical and ANBU part of her brain refused to let this pass. The voices of her old ANBU officers and trainers and even the Godaime herself whispered through her head like a mantra…

Rules are rules, mo matter the circumstances. ANBU always follow orders and always stick to protocol! The mission comes above all else, no matter what!

That rule was so far ingrained into her head, into all of the ANBU Black Ops, even more so pushed upon the leaders…she immediately knew she had no choice in the matter, and it killed her.

Sighing tiredly, she stilled for a minute, listening to the other sounds around her. Her posture would alert her team, yet she already knew they were probably already watching and ready, probably having already come to the same conclusion as her. Her jade eyes fixed firmly on Kakashi as she watched him turn his back on her to speak with his companions, and casually, she lifted a gloved hand to her face as if she were just adjusting her mask. But, instead of going to her mask, her hand went to the side of her hood where her ear was and raised two fingers, tapping them against her head lightly.

It was that signal that alerted her team into action. Move the innocent out of the way and surround the enemy, which basically translated into get Kakashi away from Naruto and Sasuke and close in. Suddenly, with a blinding speed, she flashed away from them.

Kakashi looked over his shoulder in surprise and his black eye widened as he was roughly tackled and pinned to the ground by a huge, heavy mass that turned out to be a monstrous dog. Naruto and Sasuke gasped, their eyes also widening in shock and moved to help the older man, drawing kunai, but it was too late. They were stopped dead in their tracks. More dark figures had suddenly faded out of the shadows around them and the missing-nin found themselves pinned between a lethal ANBU holding their arms behind their backs at a painful angle and the razor edge of a katana pressed dangerously against their throats.

Kakashi watched the scene with slight panic, yet he could barely move thanks to the bulk of the huge beast on his chest, pinning his arms down. In fact, if this dog stayed on him any longer, he was pretty sure his lungs would collapse, and every time he did try to move, the dog would growl, baring his razor fangs and drip more spit onto his face. So all he could do was watch whatever was happening to his ex-students with silent worry.

Sakura stepped out from the shadows next to where Kakashi was pinned to the ground by Akamaru, Kiba flanking her on the left while Genma and Shikamaru were the ones holding Naruto and Sasuke. She stepped up to them slowly, watching their faces. Even though a moment ago they looked ready to collapse, she saw in their eyes a new edge, which told her that they were awake now and would fight for their lives if they had to. She desperately prayed that it wouldn't have to come to that.

Stepping up to them, she unsheathed her own blade and let it rest loosely in her right hand. When she spoke, it was in the cool tone of an ANBU captain; firm, smooth and in Sakura's case, surprisingly void of any emotion. She knew her job and what she had to do to complete her task. Kami help whoever got in her way.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, "she paused for a second, blinking at the sounds of their names coming from her lips. How long had it been since she'd said those names aloud? Ah…how long had it been since she even thought about the men standing before her…She roughly shook away her scattered thoughts and shifted the blade in her hand. She didn't know why, but something was beginning to make her blood boil, and soon, her temper would flare. She couldn't pinpoint the reason why, but she had a nagging feeling that it had something to do with the scathing looks Naruto and Sasuke were shooting at her masked and cloaked form. Her eyes narrowed sharply behind her mask, but she quickly continued,

"You left the village of Konohagakure without permission, therefore by your actions you have abandoned and betrayed that which was once your home. Do you deny this?"

The angry glares quickly faded from the faces of the two captives, being replaced by pained expressions as they heard the charges against them. Their eyes turned away from her then, falling to look at her feet.

"No." they whispered. Sakura frowned as she watched; suddenly wishing she could throw herself into their arms again and tell them everything would be okay. Fate was a cruel mistress and one hell of a bitch when it wanted to be. She sighed, before she continued, her voice softening the smallest amount.

"Now you seek entrance back into the Hidden Village that you have left. Are you here at your own will?" she said, her eyes still fixed on them. They still had their heads down, eyes downcast towards the grassy floor.

"Yes." They said again in unison.

"Then, by your own free will and by entering the Village Hidden in the Leaves, do you swear to accept the consequences of your return?"

Naruto's head snapped up immediately at this, bobbing up and down as much as it could without cutting himself on the sword at his throat.

"I swear! I will accept any punishment…just let us in!" He yelled, his loud voice carrying endlessly through the quiet of the dark forest. She stared at him for a long moment, and then inclined her head towards Sasuke inquiringly. His eyes were up again, and she almost gasped in surprise at the penetrating way he stared at her. For once, his eyes weren't guarded. His shield was down for a brief moment, allowing her to read him like a book. He too nodded his head slightly, "I swear."

Sakura nodded, silently relieved with their honest answers, because if they had answered falsely, or attempted resistance, Shikamaru and Genma would've cut their throats without a second thought. She shivered at the thought, inwardly cringing, especially since she knew it would've been by her order. Stepping back again, returning to stand by Kiba, she sheathed her katana and crossed her arms.

"Very well then, both of you have agreed to the circumstances of your return to Konohagakure. But remember also, that should you put up any resistance or try to attack, we won't hesitate to kill you. Understand?"

Both men nodded solemnly. She nodded to Shikamaru and Genma, who slowly and a bit reluctantly withdrew their swords and stepped away from the two men. Their eyes still glared at them and they kept their weapons out, because, in all honesty, as much as they were relieved to see their long lost comrades…it was also Genma, Kiba and Shikamaru who wanted to kill them both the most.

Especially Kiba and Shikamaru…

Sakura heard movement behind her and turned to see Kiba calling off Akamaru and pulling up a worn and annoyed Kakashi. Her eyes widened and she quickly walked over to them, also helping up the tall ninja.

Oh Kami, I almost forgot about Kakashi!

Pulling him up, she quickly bowed her head lightly. Kakashi just brushed himself off and ran a hand through his silver hair, coughing lightly. It took a lot of self-restraint for Sakura not to ask him if he was alright. The medic-nin in her was screaming. Instead, she glanced up at him, her voice cool and indifferent once again.

"Hatake Kakashi, as promised by the Lady Hokage, we are here to escort you back to Konoha, but seeing as how you too were in the company of criminals, if you cause any trouble we'll have to take you into custody." She stated, peering up at him closely.

Kakashi also looked down at the young ANBU captain, and he almost choked again as his eye caught a flash of emerald green through the eyeholes. He stared at her for a long minute, thoughts flitting through his head as he tried to see past the white and red mask, but the moonlight shifted again, and her eyes faded to black once more. He shook his head lightly. No, this couldn't possibly be her… he thought, though doubt lingered in his subconscious. There was something about this person, about all of them in fact that seemed achingly familiar. Glancing at the small group, he tried to sense anything that would give them away, but only saw the same dark cloaks and white masks. Sighing, and blaming his delirious mind, he quickly shook his head at her.

"Don't worry Captain; all we want to do is get back in one piece."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at him. Never, in the seven years that she knew him, had Kakashi looked so tired and worn then now. Without a word, she turned and nodded to her team, who quickly fell in around the three men, Kiba and Akamaru at the back, Genma and Shikamaru on the wings and Sakura at the head. With a final look at the group she pumped chakra into her legs and turned in the direction of the gates.

"Let's go." She ordered, and wordlessly, the group of seven tired and worn shinobi flew through the trees, all with the single thought of getting home in their minds.

And so the story continues. Leave me sweet-nothings of your love and hate. That means reviews in writer-speak.

- Serena