Disclaimer; I do not own Naruto. If only I did...

I've been meaning to do this for a really long time... So...

Huge Shoutout to MazieShiba for posting my first review! This chapter is dedicated to you!

That happened a long time ago, but I keep forgetting except for right after I post a chapter... So finally I'm getting this done.

Enjoy!

Chapter 8; Traitorous task

"You're mission… Is to kill Naruto."

Sakura's blood turned to ice at those words. She should have known there was a catch… She should have known something like this would happen.

"No… No. No!" She could hardly breathe from the shock, the horror.

This mission was a huge mistake…

A cold chuckle escaped from Orochimaru from where he stood in the shadows of the dark room. This reaction was exactly what he had expected. After all, why would this young Leaf kunoichi want to kill her own teammate?

"No…" Sakura whimpered, taking a slight step back from Orochimaru. "No! I… I won't do it!"

"What's this?" Those cruel eyes gleamed with wicked glee. "Are you refusing me?"

Sakura shook her head ever so slightly. "No… No. I can't- I just can't do it. No!"

"You clearly don't understand the situation, Sakura." Evil delight in what he was doing was all that filled the sannin's eyes. "Saying 'no,' isn't an option."

Her breathing slowly started to escalate. "What… What do you mean?" she murmured. She didn't want to know, but…

"Well," he drawled smoothly. "It's well within your best interest. After all, if you refuse I'll have to kill you."

The kunoichi swallowed nervously. She was willing to die. It was better than doing… This.

"I can tell that the threat of death hasn't phased your determination. But… That isn't the only thing that will happen."

She knew there had to be even more to this…

"After all, if you have even an ounce of care for your family and friends…"

Oh, no. She should have expected this. Tsunade and said that Orochimaru would try to twist and blackmail her… But she hadn't expected something this bad! She had to do something… But he wouldn't just stop with her. Orochimaru had every intention to kill everyone she cared about, just to force her to bend to his will. This was far worse than she thought…

"I… No. No! You'll… You'll kill them all anyway. Your promise is worth nothing. For all I know, you'll kill me and them anyway." She shuddered at the thought of what sort of horrendous ways he could do it. Killing Naruto, no matter how obnoxious he could be, at this snake's word just wasn't worth it. She wouldn't betray him over this.

"Oh, it's true. I would kill them should they get in my way. But you see, there actually is a difference." He took a slight step closer, a nasty gleam in his eyes. "Normally, if I happen upon them and they prove problematic, I'd just kill them quickly and painlessly to be done with it. But if you were to say, refuse this mission… I'd make it a sport to hunt down and slowly torture each and every person you ever cared about to death. Perhaps I'll even force you to watch as the light slowly fades from their eyes…"

Sakura fought to choke down the bile that rose in her throat. He really would. He'd go out of his way to hunt them down and kill them like it was some kind of game. She couldn't let them die that way… But she would have to kill Naruto…

He leaned, blinking slowly. "Naruto too would be one of them too," he breathed in her ear. "His death would be the worst. Think about it. You're doing him and all the others a kindness if you take this mission."

"But… No…" Sakura flinched away. In a sick sort of way, his logic made sense. But still…

"Well? You know I don't like to wait. Are you going to do this, or not?" Still, those snake eyes gleamed horribly. Sakura couldn't break her gaze away from them.

"I…" She lowered her head and struggled to even breathe. This… No… She couldn't… But… No… Ugh! She didn't know what to do. Wait. An idea struck her. I… I do have something I can do. I doubt that Orochimaru knows where Naruto is, and neither does anyone else… If I can convince Sasuke to come to Konoha so I can talk to someone and find out where he is, I can always slip word to the Hokage about what's happening! It was better than nothing. So Sakura had to agree."I… I… I don't have a choice. I… I guess I'll have to. I have to…" She gulped and forced out, "Kill Naruto."

"I'm assuming that means yes?" Orochimaru purred, blinking slowly. "You'll do this mission?"

Not too much of a choice… But I can make this work. I can. But still, Sakura moaned in her head. "Yes, I'll… I'll do this." She wished with all her heart that she could take those words out of the air and swallow them again, having never said anything of the matter, but there was no chance of that. It was too late.

Sasuke moved from his position in the shadows and came up next to Sakura. They were now… Partners. Sakura fought the bile rising in her throat, making sure to shoot an icy glare to the Uchiha. He didn't respond, only taking his stance to her side and watching Orochimaru with gleaming black eyes.

The snake lover smiled darkly. "You're mission is to find Naruto Uzumaki and to kill him, no matter the cost. Sakura, this is your mission. You must do most of the work yourself. Sasuke is coming to assist you, and to… Keep you in check."

He… He really means to make sure I actually do it and don't chicken out. I can't kill Naruto!

This has to work…Sakura nodded weakly, feeling sick to the stomach with what she was agreeing to do. Even if her plan succeeded, the thought of doing it was still horrifying.

"I don't care how you do it; I just want you to kill him. That is all."

Sakura cringed and once again nodded weakly. This was horrid… How was Sakura supposed to kill her own friend, her teammate? He was so strong… Probably one of the best ninja in the entire world. Even with Sasuke's help, how could she bring herself to actually do it? With a microscopic shake of her head, the pinkette growled to herself, no. This plan will work. I won't have to do this.

"When should we leave?" Sasuke grunted bluntly. Sakura started and looked at him warily.

"Right now should be fine." Orochimaru licked his lips with his creepy tongue.

With a blunt nod, Sasuke turned and stalked out of the room without even waiting for Sakura to try and follow. She took off after him in the tunnels, every muscle in her body screaming for her to just take off into the woods for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Dark hatred was boiling up in her blood towards that traitor… Sasuke, that little rat, would ensure that she would do as Orochimaru commanded. Nothing Sakura could do would convince him otherwise. He would ensure that she killed Naruto.

Yet Sakura had to try. Should something happen to prevent her to reach word to the Hokage, she couldn't bring herself to kill Naruto. She felt disgusted at showing any sign of weakness to Sasuke, especially after what they had been through in the past, but if it would give Naruto even the slightest chance… She had to try. She knew Naruto. He wouldn't want to hurt her, and he would understand… He'd even be willing to die to help her. But if there was any way to give him another chance to live, Sakura would try anything. Even if it meant buttering up to Sasuke Uchiha.

A familiar blonde ninja was racing through the trees after several of his friends. Naruto Uzumaki was on his way to complete a mission in a small land between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. He raced next to his teammates for this mission; Shino, who served as team leader, Kiba and Akamaru, and Hinata. All of these ninjas were on a special mission. There had been a small group of rogue ninjas causing problems for people in this region, so the team's goal was to find these rogues, or at least one of them, to capture. The rest they could kill, but they were to get one alive. This was giving Kiba and Akamaru a chance to use their combined tracking skills, and Hinata was scanning the area with her Byakugan. Shino had sent a bunch of bugs out to check out the area too. But Naruto really didn't have anything to do until they found who they were looking for, which was giving him time to worry about Sakura.

There had been no new information about Sakura when Naruto had been sent out on the mission. He had heard that she had given them information about one of Orochimaru's many labs, but nothing about how she was doing. The blonde ninja couldn't help but worry about what was going on to her. Did she run into Sasuke? What was happening to her right now? All these things swirled around in his head, and he sighed.

Kiba, who was on the back of his large white dog, fell back to where Naruto was. "You ok, Naruto? You seem out of it, spacey."

"Oh," Naruto stared off into the distance for a second, then returned his gaze to Kiba's hard black eyes. "I am a little distracted… But I'm fine. Let's keep going."

The brown haired ninja narrowed his eyes, the red triangle marks on his cheeks standing up against his skin, before having Akamaru lurch forward once again. Naruto watched and lowered his gaze with a halfhearted smile. It would be best if he focused on the mission.

He dropped back a little, falling into step with Hinata. The young ninja was running and scanning the area with her Byakugan for any sign of the rogues. She jumped a little when she saw him looking at her with his bright blue eyes.

"Naruto?" She stammered nervously, fighting the blush that threatened to appear on her cheeks. "Can I help you?"

"No." Naruto glanced away casually. "I don't need anything."

"Oh, ok…" Hinata lowered her gaze nervously and tried to concentrate on scanning the area, but something was making it hard for her to focus. Naruto noticed this, but he said nothing.

Shino was noticing this too, so he gestured to Naruto. The blonde ninja leapt forward to meet the squad leader. "What is it, Shino?" he asked.

"Naruto, I know that you are distracted because of Sakura." He tried to deny it, but Shino wouldn't buy it. "You need to concentrate. It's important that you concentrate. These rogue ninjas aren't to be taken lightly."

"Er… Right." Naruto looked at the other ninja, whose eyes were hidden behind his dark glasses. "I'll try my best." With that, he slipped back into his position as the ninjas continued on. Yet he was unable to stop worrying about his pink haired friend.

Sakura exited the dark corridors of the other hideout, emerging to a dark cloudy world that still swirled with snow. The deep white drifts were cold and icy, as were the specks of ice that fell from the sky. The storm matched her heart; both were gloomy and turbulent. Exhaling sharply, Sakura scanned the rocks and trees. Sasuke was already out here somewhere… She had to find him so they could go on the mission.

She wandered for a moment through the silent moment, swirled with white, avoiding straying far from the entrance of the one of the Sound Bases. After a while, she gave up on trying to find him. She really didn't feel like she had enough willpower to do anything. She sank down on one of the rocks and sighed. More snowflakes whirled around her as Sakura closed her eyes peacefully.

The moment her emerald eyes opened again, Sakura saw him standing in front of her. He had his arms crossed and his onyx eyes narrowed smoothly. His raven hair hung down as it always did in spikes. Sakura felt dark hate building up in her again, but the only thing she did to show it was glare at him once again.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke rumbled in a monotone voice.

Sakura shouldered past him and hissed over her shoulder, "Yes."

Sasuke blinked coolly at her, then raced off. Sakura forced herself to follow.

Sakura followed Sasuke, although she wasn't sure where exactly they were going. Neither of the two knew where Naruto was supposed to be… But the pinkette kept silent and followed.

They eventually escaped the snowy reaches and entered a simple forest. She fought the urge to stop. It was crucial that she tried to convince Sasuke…

The two raced through the trees, moving extremely quickly. It was clear to Sakura that Sasuke just wanted to hurry up and get to the mission. They would have to do a little… Research. Figure out where exactly Naruto was.

Sakura skidded to a stop and crouched on a branch of one of the many trees. She waited, her eyes cold. It didn't take very long for Sasuke to skid to a stop and land on the branch next to Sakura.

They stared at each other for a moment. At last, Sasuke growled, "Why did you stop?"

"I…" Sakura lowered her gaze and trailed off. She had to try now to convince Sasuke, but the thought of buttering up to him… It revolted her. For Naruto's sake, she would do it though. "I… Sasuke, I can't kill Naruto!"

Those hard onyx eyes flickered, although Sakura wasn't sure with what. "You think I didn't know this? Sakura, I told you that Orochimaru is not one to play with." Sasuke crossed his muscular arms. "But you have your orders. What do you expect me to do about it? It was your choice. You deal with it."

"Sasuke, please… I know that I can't get out of this… But I can't kill him. I can't kill Naruto! Please Sasuke, I know I still have to do this… But at least give Naruto a chance! Please… Let me leave him alive. After this entire mess… Please just let me leave him alive."

Sasuke smirked at her. "You want to spare that loser's life? You still care? And yet you're here. None of this adds up, Sakura. None of what you've done this entire time." His onyx eyes gleamed.

Sakura clamped her eyes shut and murmured, "Sasuke, please."

After a hesitation, Sasuke rumbled, "Alright."

Sakura's head snapped up and she stared at him for a second. "Wait… You'll actually let me do it?" She whispered.

"Just this once. And only barely alive. But you can leave him still breathing."

Despite how much she felt hatred for him, Sakura couldn't help but feel a little gratitude. But why did Sasuke say yes? Why was Sasuke being so kind to her? Why…?

Sasuke blinked slowly at Sakura. Something wasn't right… He felt… Strange. There was some bizarre fluttering feeling in his chest, and the ninja was sweating slightly. Something was definitely wrong…

But he showed no sign of this, just fixing his onyx eyes firmly on Sakura. Instantly, he briskly moved on from this conversation. "So how do you plan on finding Naruto?" he nonchalantly murmured.

"I…" Sakura looked at the ground thoughtfully. She was so relieved that she wouldn't have to actually kill Naruto should the other plan fail… So relieved she hadn't even thought of how to find him. It shouldn't matter how she found him, since it was mostly a cover to try and get to the Hokage. But Sasuke was a suspicious man. He didn't trust her and he certainly was watching her like a hawk. After a moment more of thought, she shrugged. "I think I'll… I'll talk to someone from the Leaf Village. They'll be more than happy to tell me exactly what we need to know so we can find Naruto."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You really think I trust you not to go run into the Leaf Village and gather a group of shinobi to ambush me? What a joke." He smirked at her smoothly. By the look in her eyes, Sasuke could tell that Sakura was quickly gaining back her hatred for him. He still didn't really know why exactly she hated him, but it was strong.

"No, I don't expect you to trust me." Sakura stated coolly. "But this is the only idea I have to offer."

The Uchiha stood up on the branch and looked down at the pinkette calmly. "Well, going to the Leaf Village is a good plan. I'll just have to come with you."

That earned him a shocked stare. "Talk about getting ambushed. They'd come rushing in at you in a second! You wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Bite me," Sasuke growled.

The truth was Sasuke could probably stand on his own against even swarms of Konoha shinobi. But Sakura just didn't want him to be able to tell what she was going to do. If he would be with her, she couldn't go straight to the Hokage. She'd have to use more backhand methods…

After a moment longer of staring at him, Sakura shook her head and muttered, "Whatever. Your choice." She stood up too and gazed up at Sasuke coolly. "Come on. If we hurry, then we'll reach the village by tomorrow." She took off, her pink hair swinging across her back with each stride. Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. What is wrong with me?! He silently screeched at himself, before following the kunoichi in front of him.

The four ninjas stopped for a moment. Shino blinked at the others for a minute, his hidden eyes stopping on each of the ninjas. His gaze lingered on Naruto as he started to speak. "We now know the location of the band of rogues that we were to hunt down. It's critical that we proceed very carefully from this point forward. We need one member of this band alive, so we need to come up with a plan."

A low growl came from Akamaru, and Kiba smiled at his dog and rubbed the canine under his jaw. "Well, we can just storm their place and knock them all out. We'll just pick one to keep alive."

Naruto leapt to his feet and shouted, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

Shino sighed at their combined rashness. "That could work, but it's far too reckless. There are so many things that could go wrong. We could fall into a trap, or kill them all by accident. We need a stable plan, with fewer variables."

Kiba snorted and muttered something under his breath, scratching Akamaru's head and neck. "Then I got nothing," he grumbled.

Hinata nervously murmured, "We could try to find a way to lure the rogue ninjas into an ambush…"

"That's a good idea, but I don't know how we could trick them into walking blindly into a trap like that. From the information we've gathered from the small villages in the area, these are formerly ninjas from the Village Hidden in the Stones. They won't be foolish enough to get trapped like that."

That's when Naruto decided to join the conversation. "Well, I could aggravate them or something and when they chase after me, I can lead them to you guys."

With a sigh, Shino shook his head. "No. For all we know, they'll kill you. We need a better plan."

"…Oh, whatever. I can take care of myself," the blonde responded hotly.

"This is no time for carelessness, Naruto. I am in charge of this squad. I'll decide our plan of action. And this isn't it." Shino squared his shoulders and looked down at the ground thoughtfully. His hood which he wore over his head cast a long shadow on his face. "Give me a chance to think this over."

"Uh, right, Shino," Hinata murmured timidly, lowering her white eyes. She fought the urge to glance over at Naruto and kept her gaze fixed firmly on the ground.

Kiba sighed and rubbed Akamaru's ears. "Well, while you're planning our best move, Akamaru and I can scout the area a little; see if we find anything useful." He straightened up and glanced at them all with his black eyes. "If that's alright with you, of course," he grumbled at the squad leader.

"Sure. Keep out of sight and see if you can dig up anything useful. The rest of us can stay here." Shino calmly stated.

With a triumphant glance over at Naruto, Kiba leapt onto his dog's large back and rumbled, "Of course. Watch yourselves while I'm gone." Then, the ninja hound and his master took off into the forest.

Naruto rolled his bright blue eyes and fiercely demanded, "Why did you let Kiba go but not me? You know I'm no good at waiting or scheming… Can't I go with Kiba?"

Sighing with exasperation, Shino told him, "Naruto, we are in enemy territory. The more ninjas sniffing around, the sooner they'll find us. We need to stay hidden the best we can."

"I still don't get why you sent Kiba but not me…" The blonde ninja grumbled, but he fell silent afterwards, allowing Shino to think quietly. Hinata crossed her arms and stared at the ground nervously as both of the other ninjas waited for Shino to decide there next plan of action.

Even after Kiba returned not much later, Shino still hadn't spoken. So all three ninjas had to wait in silence for their leader to come up with a plan.

Sakura gazed out at the Leaf Village. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety as she thought about what she had to do. She was entering her home village with a very wanted rogue and trying to creep around behind his back. There were an endless number of ways this could go wrong. It would be best if no one knew she was here, especially with Sasuke right behind her. She could almost feel his light breath on the back of her neck, which reminded her of the traitorous things he had done. The fact she was here with him was almost enough to get her arrested, although Lady Tsunade trusted her.

After taking another deep breath, Sakura pulled up her hood to hide her face and turned to face her partner. The Uchiha was standing there with his own hood already up. "Are you ready?" he quietly asked, although Sakura could detect no concern for her in his question. He didn't care about her. He just wanted to get the mission done.

"Yes," Sakura spat. Even she was surprised with how much venom filled those words. She was really that mad with him, was she?

Both ninjas silently moved from the shadows at the edge of the forest onto one of the side roads that entered the village. It would be just foolish to try and enter on the main road, so they agreed to enter on one of the side paths. Sasuke would come in with her and keep an eye on her while the pinkette would go and gather the information she needed. It was a relatively simple plan, and hopefully nothing would go wrong. But they agreed that if necessary, they would both fight their way out.

The closer the two came to the village, the more tense Sakura felt. She could hardly take one step after another, fully aware of what she was doing. Betraying Sasuke Uchiha was the best way in the world to get yourself killed. And she was trying to do this right now. But not only that… She was also tricking one of her friends into telling her where Naruto was, even with the large chance that she'd have to kill him… It seemed just like the sort of thing that a missing-nin would do.

They found a small group of merchants entering, who were wearing cloaks similar to the two ninjas. It would be the perfect opportunity to sneak in, so they merged with the group. The merchants and travelers entered the Village Hidden in the Leaves and weaved through the people on the main roads. That's when Sakura and Sasuke broke off from the group.

Sakura knew exactly where she was going. With a glance towards her partner, she turned sharply and traveled down a side road. Sasuke followed her from a distance, keeping well hidden.

It didn't take very long for Sakura to arrive at a small flower shop. She nervously entered, the fragrance of flowers overwhelming her. At the counter, with her back to the kunoichi, was a blonde girl. She turned and blinked in surprise, her blue eyes wide.

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed in pleasant shock. "I thought you were out on your special mis-" She cut herself off when she saw the way Sakura cringed. "Oh, sorry. I shouldn't mention it, should I…?"

Emerald eyes met blue. "I need your help, Ino…"

The tall blonde girl tilted her head and smiled sweetly at Sakura. "I assume this has to do with your mission?"

Another cringe. "Er… You could say that…" The pinkette focused her eyes firmly on her friend. "I need to find Naruto. It's really important. Do you know where he is?"

Ino blinked and murmured, "Naruto, huh? Yeah, I think I heard something about him going out on a mission in one of the small lands between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. I think he was hunting down a small band of rogues or something… He left a few days ago."

"Really?" Sakura lowered her eyes and studied one of the many bouquets of flowers on display in the shop. "So if I follow him I should be able to find him… Right?"

With a nod that sent her blonde bangs bobbing, Ino confirmed those words.

"Thanks so much, Ino." Sakura smiled nervously and glanced over her shoulder. I have to tell her! I have to… Sasuke, please don't get suspicious… Just give me a few more minutes...

Giving her friend a confused and slightly wary look, Ino murmured, "Sakura, are you alright?"

Taking a deep breath, Sakura breathed, "Ino, something real big came up. This whole mission with Orochimaru… It's gone terribly wrong. I have to-"

Ring!

Sakura froze at the sound of footsteps coming from the door. No! I was so close… Please, no…

After a pained look at her friend, the blonde turned and smiled at the person at the door. "Hello!" she called.

Forcing every move, Sakura turned slowly and glanced over at the person. Her heart began beating again when she realized it was someone else… Someone who didn't even look slightly familiar.

The person walked smoothly up towards the counter and said, "I ordered a bouquet of flowers and I'm here to pick them up."

Ino nodded and set herself to work, but before that she turned and told Sakura, "Sorry… Please, Sakura, continue."

But the pinkette just shook her head hollowly and back away. She stared into her friend's baby blue eyes and whispered, "Oh, Ino… Tell the Hokage I'm sorry… So, so sorry," before dashing out the door. She could feel the 17-year-old's sharp, questioning gaze on her back as she dove back into the crowd.

Oh, crap! Sakura silently cursed her luck. I couldn't have stayed… What the heck am I going to do? Silently, she started to hunt out her partner.

Looking for him didn't really serve much of a purpose, because when she turned around again he was there. It was almost like he materialized from the shadows.

"What took so blasted long?" Sasuke demanded coolly.

"I, eh… Had to wait for a customer to finish up before I could talk to her alone."

His dark eyes gleamed suspiciously, but he just growled, "You have it?"

She nodded.

"Then let's get out of here."

A/N; Next chapter I forgot to add! One more's coming... Like in the next 5 minutes. XD

Got Questions?

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

Review, if you please!

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week!

-Cynder7777