"Why have you summoned me?" A young man appeared from the shadows, cold eyes piercing the darkness.

"Why, I've come across some information I thought you might be interested in hearing," a man with eyes like that of a snake replied, the mischievous grin never faltering from his lips.

"Hn. I don't have time for your games, Orochimaru."

"Of course not, my dear boy," Orochimaru began, faking an apologetic nod. "You see, my sources tell me that a certain…friend of yours has been captured. Does the name Sakura Haruno ring any bells for you?"

The young man's eyes narrowed at the name. "So what if it does? I left her and her memory in the Hidden Leaf the day I came here. If you have nothing more important for me, I'm leaving." As he spoke, the boy turned and began to walk away from his "master".

"That wasn't the interesting part. The man who captured her…was Itachi Uchiha." Orochimaru's words stopped the young man in his tracks. "Kabuto has leads on his whereabouts. If you'd like, speak with him, and he'll tell you what he knows. Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

"If you find him, make sure to put on quite the show. I'll be watching…Sasuke."

Sakura jolted awake, panting and sweaty. As she examined her surroundings, she calmed down. I…must have had a bad dream. Sasuke…It felt like I could see him…Like I was there with him… The young kunoichi's thoughts trailed off. She had a dream in which Sasuke, bent on blood lust, tracked down her and his older brother. He cut down anyone in his path, leaving dead bodies to decompose. Their innocence in the situation did not stop the young man who was so focused on revenge…

"Sakura. What is troubling you?" Itachi had been stirred by his companion's sudden awakening.

"Oh…It's nothing, really. I just had a bad dream. But, it feels kind of like an omen of some sort. It was about Sasuke. He tracked us down and—and—"

"—and it is alright now because it was just a dream," the raven-haired man cut Sakura off, giving a slight smile of reassurance. "I have been thinking about my younger brother quite a bit recently as well. I thought that my last wish in this life was to be put to death by his hands, but now… I am not so sure. I believe I have made a decision: I will relay the true happenings of the past to Sasuke. All of these years I have walked a path of darkness, only seeing one end goal; I let go of all of my aspirations, but now, having brought you here, I have gained some of my old desires and a few new ones. I no longer feel the heaviness of guilt weighing down on my shoulders so severely that the only thing I strive for in life is death. You have reminded me of the value of living, Sakura, and I cannot imagine continuing on this journey without you at my—"

Itachi was cut short by Sakura jumping up and running into the bathroom. She quickly fell at the toilet and vomited. It was such a sudden urge that hit her; her stomach was fine one second, and then she was nauseous the next. She flushed the toilet and laid her head on the edge of the seat. Her lover walked in after her, a worried expression making its way onto his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he grabbed a small rag from the bathroom sink. He wet it a bit and dabbed it onto Sakura's head.

"I…I think so. I'm not sure what happened. I just felt sick all of a sudden, but I'm fine now. Thank you." The confused girl looked up and smiled.

"I will take your word. I must go and attend a meeting with the other members. If you are feeling adequately enough, I would be grateful if you would take some time to do more research on how to heal my eyes. However, feeling better should be your first priority."

"Like I said, I'm fine now. I'll get to work as soon as you leave. Once you get back, I might even be ready to actually begin the healing process."

Itachi gave Sakura a loving pat on the back before standing up. "I will return in a few hours time. I will bring you food upon my arrival. There is tea in the room if you find yourself thirsty. Be safe."

With his last words, the elder Uchiha brother grabbed his cloak and made his way out of the room, leaving Sakura to be alone.

I must've had something to eat yesterday that didn't set well with me or something. Well, anyway, since I have a few hours to myself, I may as well clean myself up a little! The rosette-haired kunoichi thought to herself. She sat up a bit and turned the knob in the shower. Water began flowing from the faucet and quickly became warm. Once the temperate was to her liking, Sakura put a plug in the drain. A nice relaxing bath would do her some good. While the tub was filling up, she decided to go ahead and grab a couple of books and scrolls to look over. After meeting Tsunade, she had come to find out that she not only wanted to become a medical ninja to provide support for her teammates but also because she genuinely enjoys the information involved. So, she would have no issue with reading over the prints while taking her bath.

Once the tub was filled by about ¾ of the way, Sakura slid in. She let out a sigh of relief as the warm water soothed her tight muscles. She allowed her body to relax a bit before picking up one of her books to begin reading.

"Naruto, how ya holdin' up?" Kiba asked his friend. Team Asuma, Guy, and Kurenai had met up with Sai and Naruto before they all continued their search for their missing teammate.

"Fine, thanks. I'm worried about Sakura-chan, but she is one of the strongest girls I know. If I sat here worrying about her, she'd probably kill me for taking her strength lightly," Naruto responded, giving a tired smirk. Kiba nodded his head in understanding and made his way over to Shino and Sai.

The blonde-haired hero hung his head once Kiba was far enough away. Who was he kidding? Sure, Sakura was strong and would fight until she literally could not go on any longer, but she was still human; she had limits. He feared that the longer they took to find their missing friend, the higher the chances of recovering her dead…

Naruto is snapped out of his thoughts by a tender voice calling out to him.

"N-Naruto. I'm…I'm sorry if I'm a bother. I just thought I would…come and m-make sure you're doing alright," Hinata forced out. Her long-time crush gave her a soft smile in response, but the light that usually over-took his blue eyes was dim. "I…I promise that we'll find her, Naruto-kun. I'm willing to put my life on the line if it means getting her back to you safely, and…I don't go back on my word. That's m-my ninja way."

"Hinata…" At the Hyuga girl's words, Naruto faced her, tears brimming his eyes. "She's my best friend. I wasn't powerful enough to save one; I can't lose her too."

"I-I understand, but I…want you to know that you didn't fail in saving Sasuke. He's still out there, waiting for you to come get him, j-just like Sakura must be waiting for you to come and get her."

"You…You always have believed in me, even before anyone else did. Thanks for that, Hinata, and thanks for helping out with getting Sakura-chan back. But, don't die trying, okay? What would be the happiness in getting back one person important to me if I lose another?"

The shy kunoichi blushed deeply at her crush's words and looked down. She was startled when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap her in an embrace.

"I know this is going to sound weird to ask, but…" Naruto started, whispering into her ear as he hugged her. "…but please stand by my side through this. You've always been so nice to me, and I feel like I need your kindness now more than ever. I need more than just a friend; I need…someone who I know loves and trusts me. I need you."

To Hinata's own surprise, she didn't pass out or even blush; instead, she returned Naruto's embrace and spoke with absolute certainty in her voice: "I will always stand by your side, Naruto."

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! It is about to reach its climax. I have been trying to upload a bunch of chapters over the last few days in an attempt to apologize for the long period of time in which no new chapters were being posted. I plan on continuing to avidly upload new material, so be ready! Also, please leave reviews and/or private messages for me. I love hearing what you guys have to say and your predictions for what will happen next! Thanks for your love and support!