Author's Note: Fluff coming up soon, promise ;) Chapter 4!

The sun was beginning to set, ending day one of their yet to be completed mission. Even though the three of them had been moving all day, nobody seemed to be lagging behind or complaining that their muscles were burning, begging for rest.

It would take two more days to reach The Land of Rice Patties, though flying through endless rows of identical trees slowed time drastically, so much that one minute felt like an hour.

It also didn't help that they hadn't encountered one single enemy.

Not one.

Which only heightened their haste, to make certain that this trend would continue.

Sasuke was on constant alert, every five minutes activating his sharingan and searching for the tiniest flicker of unfamiliar chakra, but of course he found nothing, just the reassuring chakras of his teammates.

Naruto's was the most dominant, but that was to be expected. After all, he had something bigger than him contributing to his chakra. The Kyuubi would always be behind Naruto's chakra levels, like any jinjuriki, emitting a sinister yet powerful aura of chakra. But behind the fox, Naruto's chakra was always bright and strong, the sheer opposite of his Bijuu.

Then there was Sakura.

Her chakra had never been particularly noticeable before, Sasuke had always felt her signature, but to him it was just chakra, nothing special. But now her chakra felt welcoming and warm, a hidden source of sheer will and power ready to burst forth and be released. When she had healed him after their sparring match, he felt warm and almost happy with her chakra running through his body. He felt comfort in it, so much that he continued to engulf his senses into her signature.

It was only when he felt a small drop in her chakra that he turned his head to his left to look at her.

She was looking straight ahead, fully absorbed in her travel patterns alternating each foot that pushed off each branch. Her eyes were opened at a normal standing, her body stable and confident. To his eyes, she seemed fine and fit, nothing holding her back, but he sighed as he felt another drop in her chakra, this time smaller. He saw her reach into a pocket of her backpack and pull out a small plastic container filled with many tiny beads. She opened the cap and took one out, rolling it between her gloved fingers.

It was then that Sasuke realized that those weren't beads, but soldier pills, used to give shinobi bursts of energy and the necessary strength to continue with their duties.

Her hand rose to her mouth.

"Hold on." Sasuke said suddenly, landing on an approaching branch.

Sakura had just barely placed the pill near her lips when her hand dropped and she skillfully grasped an overhead branch, swung, flipped in the air and landed on her branch.

So much for that needed soldier pill, Sasuke thought.

Naruto landed and quickly turned around to face Sasuke.

"What? Why did we stop?" he asked with urgency in his voice. Sasuke watched surprisingly as Naruto panted slightly, putting his arm out against the tree for support.

So even Naruto was beginning to feel exhaust, not that he would ever let that stop him, Sasuke thought.

Sasuke looked at Sakura once more, her shoulders now moving up and down at a faster rate with her breathing.

Even he was beginning to feel the effects of their non stop travel, heat rushing into his body from lack of movement.

"We're stopping for the night. We all need rest." Sasuke simply said.

Naruto's breathing lessened, and he turned his head towards the forest.

"Really, it won't kill us to get some rest." Saukra said, leaning her back against her tree.

Naruto continued to look onward, but finally turned back to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Fine, but only because I don't wanna have to carry you two with me." Naruto said cockily.

He must really be tired, Sasuke thought, sighing.

The three of them simultaneously jumped, and landed smoothly on the grassy ground.

The sun was inches from setting, making everything seem peaceful and calm. Sakura inhaled the grassy scent of the forest as she picked up twigs and sticks to add to their fire which was quickly made thanks to the famous Uchiha katon style jutsu.

Sakura bent down to retrieve a piece of wood when suddenly her vision blurred, and she was on her knees. She remained there, frustrated, allowing her sight to return and for the dizziness to pass.

Was she really that tired? Sure she had risen early this morning from a terrible nightmare and she had been moving all day, but she'd been through worse. Much worse.

What's wrong with you? Get it together!, Inner Sakura was exclaiming.

Sakura sighed and rose to her feet, continuing her fun filled quest of gathering wood.

She twirled a small twig around her fingers, letting her thoughts take over.

She remembered being so determined to make this mission a success, so determined to not be a burden. So determined that she resorted to her precious soldier pills that had been miracle workers in the past.

But of course Sasuke had been watching her, she'd seen from the corner of her eye, and he made everyone stop to rest.

She couldn't shake the feeling that he only said that because he had noticed her quick slip of fatigue from her chakra, after all he had been using his sharingan..

She snapped the twig in her hand, letting the splinters sprinkle to the ground.

No dammit, no.

She would not have Sasuke look down upon her again, she didn't need to be looked after.

The man she loved would accept her, and she thought she had come close the other day at the training grounds. There was something about the way he had looked at her when she was healing him, when he pinned her against the tree. When his body got closer and closer to her own, his hand sending sparks down her skin..

And she wanted him to look at her like that again, for him to want to be close to her.

Sakura made up her mind.

She'd show him a different side of her, a side of her that only Lady Tsunade had seen during their training. A fierce, powerful side.

With a determined smile on, she spun on her heels to head back to their campground, but her feet froze.

Her ears perked up as she heard a small rustle from a giant patch of bushes. She bent down to drop the collected firewood onto the ground, the sticks clattering against one another.

She turned to the source of the rustling and her eyes narrowed. She quietly and slowly grabbed a kunai form her pouch and held it horizontally in front of her body.

"I'm not in the mood, so why don't you just come out and make things easier." she said.

She heard a male voice speak out. "Aren't we sounding confident?" the voice said.

Sakura's left leg slid slightly behind her, taking up a fighting stance.

"You're too weak to take me on, so why don't you just hand that kunai over?" he asked.

"If I'm too weak then why are you still hiding from me?" Sakura asked, her eyes alert.

Suddenly she felt a rush of wind and a presence behind her.

"Good point."

She spun on her foot to face her enemy and their kunai clanged together, grinding so hard that sparks flew from the impact. She flipped backwards away from the strange shinobi, regained her footing, and dashed forward pumping what little chakra she could muster into her clenched fist.

Her motion was abruptly stopped when he swiftly dodged her fist and grabbed her neck.

All oxygen was instantly cut off from her lungs as she tried to gasp for air.

She watched him make quick, unfamiliar hand signs with his free hand, Sakura shocked at his speed and his ability to make actual signs with only one hand.

She looked up into the eyes of her attacker, and her body instantly went limp as he jammed his middle and index fingers right between her eyes, a strange sealing pattern glowing on his fingers.

Her body fell to the ground, an icy sensation spreading through her head.

Her skin began to glow between her crossed eyes, and it spread across her forehead.

She felt the iciness invade her brain, attacking her nerves.

Her attacker smiled. "Don't worry, it may not feel comfortable now, but the feeling will pass, and you'll know what to do." he said viciously.

Sakura opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but her mind was suddenly attacked once more with strange and malicious impulses. Her eyes widened as she envisioned killing other people, causing them extreme pain, listening to the sounds of their voices pleading for their lives. She heard their bones crack under her fist, she felt their blood flow onto her skin.

Something clicked inside her head, something was happening that began to scare her. The impulses were turning into needs, intense desires. Everything she had considered to be wrong was suddenly right, everything that she would normally be against she was suddenly for. Slowly she abandoned her fear and strangely but confidently welcomed the gruesome images into her mind. The glowing light between her eyes vanished, along with her remorse. She absorbed herself in these gruesome images.

And she wanted nothing more than for these visions to be real.

Sasuke absentmindedly stared into the fire, taking in the woodsy aroma and the radiating heat that pulsed around him and Naruto. He watched as the flames devoured the last piece of brown wood, charring it to black. The fire would be dying soon, Sakura would have to hurry back with the firewood. He frowned, she'd been gone for a good ten minutes. Did it really take that long to collect firewood?

"I'll go get some more." she had said rising from the ground.

Sasuke had risen too. "Don't go alone."

"Oh don't bother, it doesn't take long to collect simple twigs. Plus we haven't encountered any enemies, I think I'll be fine." she said smirking.

She turned to leave but Sasuke grabbed her wrist. There was no way he'd let her go alone, even to complete a task as simple as collecting firewood. He wouldn't know what he would do if she was attacked or seriously injured. He'd hate himself.

She turned to him again and gently placed her free hand on top of his. "I'll be ok." she said reassuringly "It's just a simple task. Everything will be fine." She smiled at him, rotating her wrist so that her palm was touching Sasuke's, and she slowly entwined her fingers with his. She smiled once more and withdrew her hand, her fingers brushing lightly against Sasuke's still outreached hand. His eyes lingered on hers once more, and she finally turned and walked on into the forest. Sasuke was grateful that her back was to him, otherwise she'd see him blush.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who was occupied with sharpening a twig to a point with a kunai, the sound of wood cracking from the chiseling.

He'd been meaning to ask Naruto something for a while, and with Sakura absent this was his chance, and probably his only chance.

"Hey Dobe." Sasuke said, trying to make his voice sound impassive.

Naruto smirked. "Yeah Teme?"

"This morning. What did you mean by not all of us?" he asked, looking into the fire.

The sound of cracking wood stopped.

Sasuke looked at his best friend, who was looking into the fire, the flames reflecting against his blue eyes. It took a minute of silence before Naruto finally looked at Sasuke. He sighed.

"Listen Sasuke, there's something you really need to understand." Naruto began, his tone very serious. It made Sasuke nervous how serious Naruto was, so out of his character.

"After you left… Sakura-chan…was never the same." Naruto said.

Something inside Sasuke stirred, and he narrowed his eyes.

"She moped around the village, not her usual cheery self, even the simplest D-ranked missions became a challenge for her." Naruto continued. "Something inside of her broke."

Sasuke's stomach dropped. He continued to stare into Naruto's eyes, trying to find any hint of un-seriousness, but he found none. Then it all sank in. He was the one who caused her pain. It was him who had changed the fragile girl he once knew, he broke her. Naruto spoke again.

"But then, things changed."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.

"I was in the hospital, well my team was, after we….tried to bring you home." Naruto began.

Just the mention of that time made Sasuke feel even more pathetic.

"And Sakura-chan had visited me…when she saw you weren't with us…something entirely different affected her."

"And that is?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked Sasuke straight in the eyes. "Determination."

There was a very long pause.

Naruto spoke again. "Before she left my room, she had apologized to me and said that next time she and I would bring you back together. And the next day I found out that she was made the disciple of the Fifth Hokage."

Sasuke felt bewildered. All of this information was too much. The Sakura that Naruto had just described didn't even come close to the Sakura that he knew. But he had picked up an overwhelming sense of determination and will from her, so that matched up. He had learned a new side of Sakura that she hadn't even showed him yet, and he had a feeling that there was more to what she could do. Being trained by the Fifth Hokage probably wasn't a walk in the park. As if on cue, Naruto practically read his mind.

"And it sure wasn't easy. I'd pass by to watch sometimes and by the end of their training she'd be exhausted, and barely able to stand. One time she collapsed on the street, coughing up blood. I ran over to help her but she pushed me away. 'Don't touch me.' she had said. She got up on her own and continued to walk. Her will power and strength had increased so drastically that I almost didn't recognize her.

"When I came back to the village after training, Sakura and I had to face Kakashi-sensei and do the same exercise he gave all of us back when we were genin; the bell exercise. At one point, we completely lost Kakashi-sensei, he was nowhere to be found; he hid well.

"That was until Sakura suddenly punched the ground, and it completely shattered and broke, revealing Kakashi's hiding place. That was the strongest I've ever seen her, and she's continued to get stronger. Hell, she had a kusanagi put right through her stomach and she continued to fight."

Sasuke's body was frozen, un moving. Not even the heat radiating from the fire onto his body could melt his position. He looked at his own kusanagi, resting against the log he was sitting on.

She was stabbed with that?

The image of Sakura being stabbed straight through with a kusanagi came to Sasuke's mind, and he instantly banished the vision from his mind. But another came in its absence. It was a younger Sakura, tears streaming down her face.

"Please don't leave me! I love you with all my heart! Stay with me!" she had cried.

Sasuke cringed, returning to the present.

Naruto laughed lightly. "It's ok Sasuke. You still have a whole other side of her to discover. She's a strong and powerful-"

"Who's strong and powerful?" a voice interrupted.

Sasuke and Naruto turned to see Sakura walking towards them, a bundle of sticks wrapped in her arms.

"Hey what took you so long?" Naruto said jokingly as Sakura threw the sticks into the fire, the flame growing.

"I got distracted." she replied, sitting down on the ground next to Sasuke. "What are you boys talking about?" she asked, her voice slurring slightly.

Naruto shrugged playfully. "Oh you know, guy stuff." he said winking at Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked at Sakura, who was staring into the fire. Her eyes were half closed, and she seemed in a dream like trance when she stared into the flames.

She must be exhausted, Sasuke remembered. "Let's get some rest, we'll head out early tomorrow." he said.

Naruto got up and pulled a tightly packed sleeping bag out of his backpack. he unrolled it effortlessly and draped it on the grass. Sasuke was currently doing the same, then turned and noticed that Sakura hadn't moved from her seat, and was still staring into the fire, entranced by it.

"Sakura?" he asked cautiously.

"What?" she replied tersely, her eyes still fixated on her mark.

Sasuke was a little taken back, but continued to speak. "You should get some rest."

"I will. Just go to sleep." she replied moodily.

Sasuke froze. There was something wrong with her voice. No, it wasn't up or down an octave. It was the same voice that she always had. But something was off. Something didn't feel right.

And he looked at Sakura's unmoving eyes, and his stomach dropped when he saw the bright green of her eyes melt into a dark evergreen. He was about to open his mouth, but she blinked, and her eyes were the same green color they'd always been. She turned to Sasuke. His mouth was still slightly open, trying to make sense of the situation that just unfolded before him. She smiled innocently at him.

"Goodnight Sasuke-kun.."

Sakura's eyes opened calmly. She saw nothing but darkness, the fire now eating at the last bit of wood. She stretched her arms above her head. She felt good, no, she felt amazing. She needed the sleep, how else would she dream of herself accomplishing her deepest desires?

She looked over at Sasuke, who was asleep in his sleeping bag, his eyes gently shut, his face peaceful. He was close enough to her that she reached out and stroked his cheek, further lulling him into sleep. She then imagined her fingers leaving a trail of blood down his neck, the thought sending chills of excitement down her spine. She withdrew her arm when she heard the sound of a zipper. She hid in her sleeping bag and watched Naruto get up and head in the direction she had went in to collect firewood a few hours earlier. He was running his hand through his messy, spiky hair. Sakura watched him disappear, and her thoughts were suddenly overtaken.

The night disappeared and she saw blood, so much glorious blood. She heard screaming and pleading, music to her ears. She saw horrified blue eyes stare back at her, and she took them in with glee as they turned lifeless by her hand.

"Don't worry, it may not feel comfortable now, but the feeling will pass, and you'll know what to do." his voice echoed in her head once more.

She smiled, feeling a rush of excitement throughout her body.

He was right. She felt great. And she did know what to do.

She knew exactly what to do..

Naruto dunked his head into the river, letting the cool water rush into his senses, waking him up. He didn't care that they had a few more hours of sleep left, he wanted to be the first one awake so there would be no delaying in their departure.

Bāchan said they had to investigate bijuu level chakra, and there was no way that Naruto would let his team lag behind. What if another jinjuriki like himself was in danger? He wouldn't forgive himself if he lost another jinjuriki to the greed of those who wanted the power of the tailed beasts, regardless if the jinjuriki was a complete stranger. He felt connections to the others like himself in a deep way, deeper than any connection that he'd felt before. They were family to him, more than family even. He shook out his hair, water droplets spraying everywhere.

Crack

Naruto's ears perked up, his eyes narrowing. He slowly rose to his feet and pulled a kunai.

He spun, ready to attack, but quickly stopped himself when he saw her standing there.

"Oh, Sakura-chan! I thought you were an enemy or something." Naruto said with relief in his voice. Sakura walked closer to Naruto, saying nothing, her movements slow.

"I was thinking, since you're awake we should wake up Teme and head out earlier than we planned." Naruto continued. "In fact I'm not even tired anymore!"

"Then let me help you with that." Sakura replied, inches away from Naruto.

"Help me with wha-" Naruto began, but cut himself off. His eyes widened and his stomach dropped. He looked at Sakura, a kunai in her hand. She began to point it at him.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking into her eyes. Then he gasped.

Her eyes weren't the bright spring green they normally were, but a dark evergreen, her pupils almost not visible. She lunged forward and grabbed Naruto's throat, catching him by surprise and cutting off his air. She pressed the kunai to his side, the weapon entering his flesh, blood trickling down Naruto's side. He cringed, but his eyes never left Sakura's. He took in unfamiliar evergreen eyes.

This was not Sakura-chan.

She smiled at him. "Goodnight, Naruto."

Sasuke opened his eyes to the darkness surrounding him. He couldn't explain it, but he woke with a terrible feeling in his stomach.

"Sakura. Naruto." he said, sitting up. "Let's head out. I've got a bad-" he stopped talking when he saw two empty sleeping bags next to his. He quickly put the pieces together.

SHIT.

She was quick, but Naruto was quicker. He slapped her weapon out of her hand and kicked her stomach, sending her flying. She flipped in mid air and landed smoothly on her feet. Her eyes met his, full of lust. Naruto looked right back at her, worry spreading.

She must be under some jutsu, that would explain her eye color.

"And her attempt to kill you." A voice retorted.

Naruto closed and opened his eyes, and he found himself face to face with the Kyuubi.

"I don't need you for this. I don't want to hurt Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

"That's girl's under a jutsu, one that I haven't seen in years." the fox said.

"You've seen this before?! What jutsu is it?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It has no name, but it was designed to twist one's perception and morals, giving them the desire to kill." the fox replied.

A sick feeling entered Naruto's stomach. He knew that Sakura would never kill for fun, and it must be destroying her mind. "How do I undo the jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"You need to tap her forehead to release it, it's the only way." the fox said.

Naruto nodded and turned away.

The fox disappeared and Naruto was back in the forest, facing his friend.

There was an intense hunger in her eyes that scared him.

Without warning, she punched the ground and the earth shattered. Naruto jumped up, avoiding the mini earthquake beneath him. He thought he was safe, but then he heard laughter. He looked above him and to his horror saw Sakura above him, and she slammed him into the ground, shaking the forest. Naruto felt his entire body radiate with intense pain as he slammed into the rough ground. Naruto's body was paralyzed, his limbs not obeying his commands to move. More pain shot through his body as he coughed up blood. He grimaced as Sakura grabbed his neck and pulled him out of the earth like he weighed nothing. She held him up, and extended her right hand, her chakra becoming visible and sharp. Naruto instantly recognized Sakura's chakra scalpels, as she had used them on their previous missions.

"Sakura-chan..don't." he coughed, barely able to speak. Her extended hand rose.

She smiled. "Sayōnara, Naruto."

Her arm swiped down.

Hehe cliffhanger until the next chapter.. Also, Happy New Year! Please Review!