To Love and to Love Again Chapter 33: Let it Burn

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER AND AUTHORS NOTE: I do NOT own Naruto. The awesomeness of the Naruto Manga and World is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto. This is Purely Fanfiction. All things Medical in this entire fanfiction should not be taken as serious medical advice or facts. PLEASE CONSULT AN ACTUAL DOCTOR FOR ANY MEDICAL INFORMATION/QUESTIONS. THANK YOU AND ENJOY!

In the middle of the vast planes of dry earth, he walked towards seemingly nothing. But he knew, better than anyone, that looks can be deceiving.

The place looked exactly as it had eight years ago. Not a rock out of place. He walked to the wall of the mountain in even, unhurried steps as his eyes took in their surroundings. Here, in the wide open plane of boulders and dry dirt, he was the most vulnerable. But at the same time he knew that this place had already been searched by the CIA long ago. That didn't mean they weren't watching.

He wouldn't have put it past them to keep eyes here at all times. They knew by now. There was no way they didn't. Someone had known all along, and that was what continued to eat his nerves at night. He had been so careful, yet it didn't matter. One crack in the ice and here he was once again, going rouge.

But his purpose was nothing like his previous agenda. Now he had something to fight for, and he wouldn't stop until he protected what was his or died trying. He almost did anyway and the thought ignited the rage in his blood.

His fury at getting shot did not lessen whatsoever as the weeks went by. It was that fury, combined with the threat against his family that drove him to hunt them down. He was fully recovered now, but he would always have the scar to remind him of his true reason for anger. Had it not been him, that scar would have marked her, or taken her away from him for good.

His possessiveness in regards to her intensified unlike anything he had ever felt. She was in his every waking thought. Her face, her eyes, her body and even her scent plagued his dreams at night. He burned for her, and being away from her for this long was taking its toll…but he couldn't see her until he finished this.

He reached the base of the mountain and pulled out his Choukuto. Stabbing a slab, the rock moved out of the way. He entered as it closed up behind him. The Sound base was in shambles. Everything was destroyed.

He didn't know how much of the files the CIA had, but there might have been the off chance they didn't get everything. He had to know who was capable of orchestrating something like this with a big enough motive to put it in motion. The key had to be here somewhere. He had been searching every crevice of every base he knew, eyes ablaze with Sharingan that would not be receding anytime soon.

Time was drawing near, and he would be ready once more.

Sakura woke up with a start. She looked around the living room and saw that Suki had fallen asleep beside her on the couch, while Sora continued to draw on the coffee table before her. She rubbed her eyes open and saw that the TV was still on. The ninja anime they had been watching had ended and another anime was currently playing. She recalled watching the intro to that show before closing her tired eyes for just a minute that turned into a half hour.

Sakura covered Suki with a blanket and let her sleep on the couch for now. Sora was still drawing on the coffee table. She turned the TV off and sat next to him on the floor, watching him draw.

"What are you drawing now?" she asked as the familiar outline of the white haired man made his appearance.

"A ninja," Sora mumbled as he continued to draw.

Sakura observed him carefully. He was so tuned into his drawing that he barely registered her right next to him. She proceeded to watching him draw, following his movements and watching his face as he did so. There were minutes when Sora would draw with fluidity, and then for the briefest of moments, he would pause. When he did, he would close his eyes and then draw once more as he opened them.

He was using his mind's eye to remember the form of the tattoo. Sakura grabbed a piece of paper and a black pencil and began to make her own drawing. She carefully began to make the musical note, with the noticeable curvature of the tip that distinguished it from Sora's straight line.

"What do you think of this?" she asked as she slid the paper toward him. Sora glanced at it, and then paused.

"What is it?" he asked as he stared at it. Sakura looked back at her drawing and traced it with her fingers.

"Well, what does it look like to you sweetie?" she asked watching him carefully. Sora traced his hands over it as well.

"It looks like the letter d" he answered.

Sakura heart twisted in her chest at the confirmation. All this time, Sora was remembering the attack. All this time, his mind was trying to make him remember it through is drawings. That must have been why he was constantly drawing the man over and over again. He was never getting it right, because didn't know what that symbol meant.

"It's not a letter in the alphabet, even though it kind of looks like one," she began. "This symbol is a musical note. It's a symbol that represents a certain sound in music," she explained. Sora looked up at her then. Sakura placed her hand on his cheek. "Sora, have you seen this symbol before?"

Sora nodded slowly.

"Where did you see it?" she asked. "It's okay if you don't remember, but if you've seen this before somewhere, then I need to know."

Sora didn't speak as he stared at the drawing again. Sakura decided to speak for him. She knew she was asking a lot from a five-year-old, but her son was no ordinary kid.

"Did you see this on someone?" she asked. Sora nodded. "Did you see it on the bad man that broke into our house a long time ago?"

Sora looked up at her startled, before he nodded. Sakura nodded as well before pulling him into her lap and wrapping her arms around him. Sora had gone very quiet. She pulled his drawing before them. "Did he look like this?" she asked.

Sora nodded again, and began to cry.

Sakura held onto him tight and rocked him back and forth. "It's okay, you're alight. I'm so sorry baby," she said as she kissed his cheeks and held him tighter. "It's going to be okay now," she soothed. It had to be alright. She finally had a place to start, and she wouldn't waste it.

Sakura woke up the next morning feeling like crap. It was never wise to cry yourself to sleep, because you don't wake up feeling any better. If anything, it carries over and shows in under eye bags. She still showered and dressed in her work out attire, as she would be going to the dojo with Naruto again to release some steam.

She wore her favorite red tank with the white circle on her back with black athletic pants. She put a black sweater over her tank, as the weather looked as gloomy as she felt. Dark grey clouds covered the sky, threatening rain. The weather predicted a big storm heading their way in the next few days. Looks like it would come sooner.

She proceeded to wake the kids and got them dressed for school before Naruto came and got them. The drive to school was quiet, and Sakura didn't expect anything more. Sora had also cried himself to sleep and was probably feeling as blue as she did.

"We're here," Naruto announced. "See you guys later," he said to the kids.

"Bye Uncle Naruto," Suki said. Sora mumbled a goodbye as Sakura took hold of their hands and walked them to the front entrance.

She looked around constantly, trying to spot any kind of threat. This endless fear had eaten away at her until it was in every cell she had; a permanent companion that would not soon go away, if ever.

Suddenly, her father came to mind. She hadn't spoken to him in weeks and a surge of emotion surfaced right then and there.

Was this what it felt like for her father? Never knowing who was coming after your child because of something you did? Never knowing that your children are truly safe? Only now could she understand what he must have felt. If Sakura was in his position, would she have told Sora or Suki about her real life? Would she have wanted them to harbor that fear that came with the truth?

No, she wouldn't have wanted them to live in fear. She would protect them, no matter what. She would have made sure they had a normal childhood, free from worry, just like her father did for her.

She would have done exactly as he did. Thanks to him, she had a regular childhood. She had friends, and memories that would stay with her for the rest of her life, all because of what her father did to protect her.

"Why are you crying mommy?" Sora asked as they stepped into the school courtyard. Sakura stopped and wiped her eyes, not even having felt the tears as they so regularly appeared nowadays.

"Oh, it's nothing sweetie I just have something in my eye," she said quickly. She knelt down before them before saying "I'll pick you up after school and we'll go out to get some Okonomiyaki for dinner. How does that sound?"

"Good," Suki said. "Can we bring Uncle Itachi? He loves Okonomiyaki," she added in a hopeful voice.

"I'll ask him to join us," Sakura said, not having the first clue as to how she would bear an audience with Itachi, even after this long. She hadn't seen him at all since Sasuke disappeared and quite frankly she didn't know how to handle him. Something about his eyes had her on edge. It was like he could see right through her.

She had thought about getting a hold of Itachi to get some information from him. He was Sasuke's older brother and knew him in ways she did not. But she didn't know what his reaction to any of this would be and she was too much of a borderline basket case to handle another emotional punch.

But she couldn't find it in her heart to deny Suki another family member just because of her apprehension. "I didn't know he liked Okonomiyaki," she said, making Suki smile.

"He always gets some for me and draws clouds on it with red chili paste. He says it's his favorite because it's my favorite," Suki said matter-of-factly.

"I see. Then he has good taste, doesn't he Sora?" she asked.

Her son only nodded in response, which had her worried. He cried himself to sleep last night after she spent a good half hour soothing him and telling him he did nothing wrong and that she couldn't have been more proud of him. After she tucked him and Suki in for the night, she cried herself dry and knocked out in her bed. Sleep came easily due to her exhaustion, but her mind supplied her with enough nightmares to keep the battle going long into the night.

If it wasn't for these two kids, she didn't know how she could have gone on. Sakura took hold of their hands. They were so much alike, yet so different when they looked you in the eye. Those big sad eyes made her heart break a little more each day.

"You know how much I love you both?" she asked. They both nodded. "And do you know how strong and brave you are? I'm so proud of you two."

"I know," Sora said.

"Me too," said Suki.

"Well I love you both so much more than you could ever know. Nothing could ever make me love you less," she said smiling at them. "And you know how much your daddy loves you?" she asked to Suki. "And you as well." She said to Sora. "He loves you both as much as I do. And we need to be strong for him, until he can come back to us."

"But how do we know when he can come back Aunty Sakura? Because I miss him," Suki said. Sakura placed her hand on her cheek and kissed her forehead as she did so.

"Everything your daddy is doing is for us. I know it's so hard to be without him, and I know it's hard for him to be away from you. Believe in him Suki, and he will come back. He loves you too much to stay away forever. In the meantime, you have me and Sora, and grandma and grandpa, your Uncle Itachi, Uncle Naruto and Akira and Akio and everyone here."

Suki nodded, but Sakura could see that it was hard for her to go on without him. Sasuke was her entire world. He was the only parent she ever knew.

"He'll come back," Sora said to Suki. Sakura looked at him, surprised at his determined tone. "He's fighting the bad guys, just like the ninja's in the anime. And he'll win because he's the good guy. Then he can come home," he said confidently.

Suki nodded and smiled this time. She believed Sora. Her daddy was a hero and he'll beat all the bad guys before he came home.

Sakura was amazed at their bond. They knew each other so well now, and she knew how they took care of each other. Even now, her son was being brave for Suki when she needed it most.

"He's right," Sakura said. "He will come back, and when he does, he would want to see you happy sweetheart. Try to smile for him. We will see him again soon, I promise."

Suki nodded. Sakura pulled them both in for a tight hug and multiple kisses before she handed them off to Lee, who she could see waiting for them at the entrance.

"Okay. Off to class now," she said releasing them. "I love you both," she said, determined for them to hear it and know it as often as they could.

"Love you too mommy," said Sora.

"I love you too Aunty Sakura," said Suki before they turned to walk to Lee. When they reached him, they turned to wave at her before going inside. Sakura waved back as she reflected on the promise she made to them. It probably wasn't smart to say something like that, but she had nothing else to give them. She hoped it wouldn't be in vain.

Sakura turned to leave and walked back to the car where Naruto was waiting.

"Alright children, I shall begin by taking roll call. Please respond with all the spirit your youth can muster when you hear your name!" Lee said with a salute.

Suki giggled every time he did that. Lee had Sora and Suki moved up to the front of the class along with the Nara twins and Jun Inuzuka. All children of CIA operatives were to be closely monitored and protected at all times when their parents were on missions for the agency. The policy went back as far as when the agency began to ensure that children would not be targeted by vengeful subjects, as well as give their clandestine Agents some peace of mind that their offspring are safe.

Lee didn't have any children himself, save for his three infant godchildren, but he took pride in his protection detail services. Children were the future, and Lee put everything into harnessing the power of their youth to help them grow up to be the best they could be.

He felt particularly attached to the five children before him, as they were all children of his closest friends, even Suki Uchiha. Though her father was a fearsome rouge Sound Operative, Lee still saw her as Sakura Haruno's child, and for that he would protect her with his life.

"Inuzuka Jun!" he called.

"Here!" Jun called. "I'm here" he shouted, over what Lee thought sounded like a puppy barking. When he looked up, he saw that Jun's school coat was moving, before the furry little head of a white puppy popped out of the middle. Suki and Akira giggled as Jun hastily tried to cover up the pup.

"Inuzuka Jun, unhand that puppy and place him in the corner please until later," Lee said.

"Awwww," Jun whined as he carried the puppy to the box in the corner.

Lee recalled Kiba mentioning the other day that Akamaru finally fathered a littler of his own a while back. Judging by the puppy's appearance, he'd say that was definitely Akamaru's pup and Jun snuck him into class. Kiba used to do the same thing in their academy days.

Still, Kurenai had called to advise him to keep a box full of puppy food, water and toys in case Jun took after his father in that aspect. It was good advice. After Jun hustled back to his seat, Lee continued with roll.

After that was done, Lee began that day's lesson. He instructed the children to pull out their writing notebooks. The puppy in the corner seemed to behave, only making the occasional noise, but otherwise content in his play box. Today they were going to continue building sentences.

After an hour of workbooks, Lee announced the new assignment.

"Alright class, it is now time to practice our reading skills! Please repeat the sentences as I write them on the board!" he instructed.

Lee began by writing all of Guy Sensei's rules for a youthful life on the board. The children repeated what they could in a childlike monotone. If anything, they would never forget how to spell the word 'youth' in their lifetime.

Lee had written about five sentences so far. In his enthusiasm, he didn't notice the growing silence of the room as the chants grew fainter. A few seconds more, and the complete silence was broken only by the sound of multiple pencils rolling off of desks and the sound of dropping weight to follow. The puppy let out a string of small barks before going silent. Lee turned around, only to find every child with their heads down on their desks. There was no movement whatsoever.

That's when his watch began beeping. He glanced at the dial and saw the airflow chart indicated a spike in a concentrated substance in the air.

He moved, and before he could make a single step his legs gave out beneath him. Every muscle was failing by the second. Lee tried to haul his arm up to signal an alert to the CIA, but his arm wouldn't move anymore.

He grunted as he tried to fight the effects. His voice failed him as the muscles in his throat refused to comply, and his vision was getting darker. Only then did he realize the air was laced with a noxious paralytic. Each breath he took, the darker it became. He managed to rotate his wrist enough so that the floor activated the button on his watch.

He passed out before the operative's voice could reach him, or hear the alert being passed through the system.

When Lee would later wake, it would be to the same classroom…except for the two empty desks in the front; the raven haired children that occupied them nowhere in sight.

They drove through the pass towards the dojo. Naruto enjoyed the change of scenery from the bustling city, to the calm and serene forest and mossy rock incline that lead up to the traditional Japanese style dojo. The weather was still crappy. Rain threatened to fall as the ominous grey clouds covered the sky.

Sakura rummage through her bag and found her work out gloves. She stuffed them into her pants pocket for later and made sure that her other belongings were in order before wrapping the purse straps around her wrist. Ever since she told her father about the book, she succumbed to the paranoia that he would try to take it from her on the sly, and she wouldn't have put it past him to try. So she kept the book within arm's reach at all times.

She sat back and cast a cautious glance at Naruto. He was his usual self as always: happy, energetic, loyal and playful. She just described a dog, but he just had that play with a puppy feeling going on. He jumped at the chance to take her back to the dojo, and she would use that time to her advantage.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Naruto asked as they drove up the road. Sakura had been staring at him for almost a minute and it was freaking him out.

"I was thinking," she drawled as she turned to look out the window. "We don't really know each other that well Naruto. I mean, I've gotten to know you over these past few months, but I don't really know much more other than your love for Ramen."

"Well…what do you want to know?" he asked, weary of her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Little stuff like where'd you grow up and what kind of music do you like and so on. I'd like to get to know my sparring partner a bit more before I unleash my fists on you," she said smiling.

Naruto gave a nervous laugh at the thought of her deceitfully small fists. "Uhhh let's see…well I grew up around the Tokyo area for most of my life…but I've been around different places every now and then," he said keeping his eyes on the winding road.

"That's cool. How's Hinata by the way. I know she was running a fever earlier. Is she okay now?" she asked.

"Yeah she recovered from her cold," he answered.

"Where did you and Hinata meet?"

"That would be through school," he said snickering. "I was a goner the minute it came to lecture and Hinata rescued me there. I always thought she was weirdo cause she would always mumble and turn all red whenever she talked to me, but she was the nicest person. I was surprised as hell when she told me she liked me," he admitted, still incredulous to this day.

Hinata did confess to him, but she did it while she put herself in harm's way to protect him during a major operation with the Sound Organization. The memory still gave him shivers at how close he came to losing her that day.

"When did you guys get married?" she asked. "You married young, just like I did."

"Almost a year ago," he answered. "We were young, but we didn't want to wait. You never know how long you've got," he said solemnly thinking about her confession again. Hinata really was something.

"What's was the weather like for your wedding? It had to have been better than this," she said indicating the darkening sky. Naruto smiled at the memory.

"Bright and Sunny," he said happily.

"Did you have ramen as the main course," she asked chuckling.

"You know it. Her father wanted this whole black tie affair crap but I managed to sneak some in," he said proudly. "Take that you jerk."

"When did you start eating ramen?" she asked.

"When I had enough teeth as a kid," he said smiling in his dopey manner.

"What's your favorite kind of ramen?" she continued.

"Pork."

"How often do you eat ramen?"

"Every day," he replied without shame.

"How long have you been with the CIA?" she asked without missing a beat.

"Thirteen years next month, believe it-" he stopped and gapped in horror as he stared at her. "…I meant…I… shit!" he cursed as he abruptly stepped on the breaks. The tires screeched as he did so.

Sakura kept looking straight ahead without any signs of emotion on her face. Naruto pulled off to the side of the road and killed the engine. Silence ensued for five full minutes.

It was the longest five minutes of his life. Sakura was deathly still and staring straight ahead.

Naruto was in state of panic. She hadn't looked at him once since he blurted it out, and it was killing him. What excuses could he give? He promised not to tell, but dammit she made him! She used his love of ramen to lower his guard. She set a damn trap and he walked right into it. She friggin made him, and suddenly, Naruto was lost in thought.

Finally, she knew. There was no going back now.

"Sorry Kakashi Sensei," he thought as he turned to her and took hold of her hand. He took it as a good thing when she didn't cringe or pull away.

"You really are something you know that Sakura?" Naruto asked. When she turned to him, she saw he that he was smiling at her. "Sneaky too," he added with that fox like grin of his. Sakura raised an eyebrow. She expected him to deny it, not outright come clean. "I'm sorry I kept this from you, but believe me when I say that I wanted to tell you more than anything."

Sakura searched his eyes and found that she believed him. Somehow she didn't doubt that Naruto wanted to tell her. There was something about him that told her she could trust him with anything, and right now that was a necessity.

"It took a while…," she said "…before I realized it shouldn't have taken me while. I actually blame myself for not realizing sooner."

"How long have you known?" he asked curiously.

"The first night I confronted my father," she answered. "I did a lot of thinking, and that's when some of the pieces came together."

"Who else have you made?" he asked.

"The list of who I haven't is shorter," she replied, dodging the question. Naruto didn't know exactly who she discovered, but he now understood why everyone needed to be on their toes. Sakura was smart, and if she could piece together this much there's no telling what else she could do.

"You've figured me out, and I know you chose now for a reason. So what's up?" he asked. Sakura brought out her purse and put in on her lap.

"That's not all I figured out," she said as she pulled out a few of Sora's drawings. She handed them to Naruto who flipped through them.

"Sora made these?" he asked. Sakura nodded.

"I hadn't noticed that the theme of his drawings had changed since we were attacked in our house all those months ago," she said. "Did you know that I never really got a good look at the attacker? He had me in a choke hold from behind," she said, remembering the way her neck throbbed for days afterwards.

"You can't blame yourself for that," Naruto said. "And anyway, you gave him a pretty good ass-whopping before he left. But what's that got to do with these?"

"I didn't see him…but Sora did," she said. "And this is how he's been dealing with it. I think this is the man that attacked us," she said holding up Sora's most recent drawing. Naruto was startled at her statement. "Do you have any idea of who that may be?"

"Sakura, are you sure that's what Sora's drawing?" he asked not wanting to reveal that he knew exactly who that man was. If he told her this was Sai's brother, who knows how she might react. Naruto studied the drawing closely, taking in all the details. If what she was saying was true, then they finally had a new lead and a better picture of Sai's brother.

"I asked him about it last night," she said. "I made the conclusion myself, but I knew Sora wouldn't have known what he was doing. It's the artist in him. He's only five. I can't expect him to know that his subconscious is trying to make him keep the memory alive."

"Sakura, this is helpful and believe me when I say that we'll look into this," he started. "But how can you be sure that this guy is real and not someone Sora just made up in his head? I'm not trying to doubt you, but the agency is going to question everything; it's what they do best."

Sakura pulled out another piece of folded paper and kept it closed. "I kept thinking that there had to be a connection to me, or someone I knew. When I found out about…all this, I took a lot of time thinking about everything. I felt like a puppet, with a different person pulling each string and making me dance the way they wanted. There were too many people trying to call the shots in my life. And I kept thinking, with so many people pulling the strings they had to get tangled up eventually." She glanced at him before continuing.

"In the police report, Sora said that the man had a letter on his arm, like a tattoo. That's this mark right here," she said pointing to it on the drawing Naruto held. "Then I read Sai' book, and this was the mark that he really saw," she said unfolding the piece of paper with the Sound symbol for Naruto to see. When she saw his eyes widen in recognition, Sakura knew he understood. "The tattoo was not a letter, it was a musical note. That's what Sora didn't understand."

"All this…you…," Naruto was amazed at what she had put together.

"I know about the Sound Organization," she said. "I know what it was, who controlled it, and what their operations entailed. I know that my father worked to take it down; I know that Sai infiltrated it for some purpose…and I know that Sasuke was a part of it somehow. I have three strings, and I don't know which one I pulled to make this all happen."

"The Sound Organization is after you. Son of a bitch!" he cursed, hitting the steering wheel and marveling at the turn of events.

"I don't know if they're after me specifically or if it's because of something my father or Sai did, but I don't think Sasuke is the reason," she said, making him look at her. "He must have figured some of this out. That must have been why he left. He's trying to fix this somehow."

"You listen to me Sakura," Naruto said seriously. "Sasuke is on a whole other level than the rest of what you know. We still don't know his agenda, but we know the extent of his capabilities. He's dangerous, and he can't be trusted right now."

"He's not the one that caused all this," she argued.

"You don't know that. I know you care about him; so do I. But Sasuke is one of the CIA's most wanted criminals."

"Then how come none of you arrested him?" she asked. "If he was so dangerous how come he's been free until now?"

"That's because we didn't know he was the one we were looking for!" he answered. "Eight years ago, the CIA finally located the Sound base and moved in. Your father led the team. We took down the base, but we found that the leader of the Organization was already killed before any of us could get to him."

"Orochimaru," Sakura said startling Naruto further. "I know that he was a monster responsible for that organization."

"Then you know just how powerful and deranged Orochimaru was," he continued. "He had henchmen; operatives that were unlike any you've ever seen. But there was one he had, that was more dangerous than the rest. He trained him to be strong, and powerful, and designed him for one purpose. That notorious Sound Operative was the one suspected of killing Orochimaru in the end."

"Sasuke," she whispered. "He was planning to kill Sasuke! What was he supposed to do then huh?"

"Sasuke wasn't just a criminal Sakura," Naruto said. "He was a killer! An assassin! And the man that attacked you, we think he might be-"

He stopped speaking when a static noise filled the car.

The voice came from out of nowhere.

"Time is up, my sssweet sssweet Sssssssakura," it said.

Naruto and Sakura had just enough time to look each other in the eye before the windows and windshield exploded, shattering glass in all directions.

Sakura screamed as Naruto instinctively moved to protect her as the shards impacted and smoke began to fill up the interior. But this smoke smelled funny and before he registered what it was, he felt the needle puncture his neck. He reached for the arm that began to retract and clutched it with his fingers, digging his nails into what felt like leather. He heard a scream as his nails broke the material and reached the skin.

A stunning blow to his head made him release the arm. Sakura screamed as he felt her being pulled away from him.

"Naruto! Naru-" Sakura shrieked before a gloved hand wrapped around her mouth and yanked her out of the car. A needle was pressed into her neck, knocking her out in seconds. Naruto reached for his gun seconds before the paralysis kicked in. As he went down, his eyes barley registered the pink and red blur of Sakura's form begin carried off towards the woods, before he lost consciousness.

All he could see was black before the sudden burst of energy surfaced from deep within his cells, waking him up at light speed. His eyes flew open and his body moved with increased speed. He glanced at the clock and saw that roughly forty-five minutes had passed before he leapt out of the car, heavily aware of Sakura's absence.

The sound of thunder was heard a scant second before the rain began falling in heavily droplets, soaking him within seconds as they fell.

His head was moist with blood seeping out of a cut from the window shards, but he ignored it as he pulled out his gun and called out to her, even though he knew it would be in vain.

"Sakura!" he shouted over the roar of thunder.

He tried to activate communication with the base. Where the hell were they? They should have been all over this place after the car exploded, but response time was five minutes not forty-five. His watch crackled with static as communication as established.

"Agent Uzumaki, report your location," the operative instructed.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS? Tokyo Forest range, Code Black: My car was rigged and Sakura Haruno was abducted by an unknown source suspected of being in league with rouge Sound operatives. Contact the Commander and the team immediately and get out here now!" he shouted.

He heard the alert being sent over the interconnected communications system as all the Agents on Sakura's case were alerted.

His nose detected a potent scent in the air and with it, a sense of cold, dead fear. He smelled smoke, and he turned to see faint wisps of it coming from deep within the forest. It was raining bullets, but still there was no mistaking that particular stench. The rain had extinguished it just now, but he knew what that smell was.

"No," he whispered as he ran toward it. "NO!" he screamed. The watch crackled again as Tsunade's voice came on.

"Naruto the team is on the way. Report your condition," she ordered. "Naruto!" she shouted when he wouldn't respond. He ignored her words.

The closer he got, the more detailed the scent became. Something had burned while he was out, and it sure as hell wasn't wood. He ran through the greenery and broke through a patch of trees and froze when he saw the smoking object.

The shape was unmistakable. It was a human body, and it was charred beyond recognition. It had been burning until the rain had doused it a minute ago. But when he saw what was melted onto the chest, he fell to his knees with his eyes wide open, and unleashed an animalistic scream into the sky.

There, still recognizable through the dying embers, was a burned circle necklace on her chest.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Dun dun dun…. Let's just say Adele's 'Set Fire to the Rain' came to mind as I was writing this. To be continued when you shower me with adrenaline fueled reviews! Non-stop unraveling of the secrets to come from now on.