Kei-Kei Yuki: Prepare yourself for the next chapter which I'll try to update soon. Also, let me start off by saying that I don't hate Sakura, and despite how much it pains me, I somewhat understand the whole SasuSaku pairing. It took a lot of time and me to push my anger aside, but I understand it. Plus, Sakura did become one hell of a beautiful and strong kunoichi and no one can take that away from her.

Her love for Sasuke despite it being annoying is pure and genuine. Even though I don't want to admit it, Naruto is just as guilty as Sakura when it comes to easily forgiving Sasuke cause they care for him so much. In my honest opinion, Sasuke can only end up with two people, either Sakura or Naruto/Naruko. Only those two can truly accept Sasuke for the person he is and heal his wounds. But at the end of the day, SasuNaru will always be my number one pair~! XD

Beta: Ana-DaughterofHades

Sasuke Retrieval Mission

When the Hokage called Shikamaru into her office, learning of Sasuke's defection from the village was nowhere on the Nara list of reasons for being called away but the Hokage instructed him to mobilize a team to retrieve the last Uchiha. Shikamaru's first stop was Naruko, knowing the fuss she would've kicked up if he didn't invite her along, but when he made it to her apartment, no one was there. Not thinking much of the ordeal, he told himself they could look for Naruko later.

After leaving Naruko apartment, Shikamaru made his way towards the Hyuuga Residence and recruited Neji. Hinata, who was near when Shikamaru explained the details of their mission, reached out to Shikamaru before the two could leave. "D-Does Naru-chan know about this?" The heiress had her eyes set on the floor, mind reeling with concern, thoughts focused on her best friend.

Scratching the back of his head, Shikamaru could sense Hinata's concern. "When I stopped by her place, she wasn't there. So no, she doesn't know yet."

"Try Sasuke's apartment, before she left here she said she was going to visit him. Something in my gut is telling me that she is still there." Seeing the way Hinata was gripping a hand to her chest worried both Shikamaru and Neji as this showed just how concerned Hinata was for Naruko.

"Naru-chan and Sasuke have grown quite close since being on the same team. So, please be gentle when you tell her. There is no telling what state she might be in when you see her." Standing outside Sasuke's apartment, Shikarmaru recalled Hinata's warning before they made their way inside.

Only, they found the door unlocked and Naruko with her head lying on the table asleep. Seeing this scene, Shikamaru, with a heavy heart, watched as Neji awoke the sleeping blonde by stabbing his fingers at one of her pressure points. Watching as those drowsy blue orbs slowly revealed themselves, Shikamaru told himself that he wasn't quite ready for this part yet.

After analyzing Hinata's words and stumbling upon current Naruko's state, it told him that the relationship between the rivals had changed somewhat since their days as academy students. There was definitely something going on between the two, but whatever it was, Sasuke had put an end to it, and now Naruko must suffer the consequences. How was he supposed to tell Naruko that her rival and teammate, the same person she'd been chasing after and associating with, had supposedly up and left the village.

"H-Huh... Shika?... Neji?... What are you-" Like a bolt of lightning, fragments of yesterday night flashed through her head. Tan hands slammed on the table as she jumped out of her seat. "Sasuke!" Whipping her head around the apartment, Naruko searched for any traces of her rival. Telling himself it was time to find courage, Shikamaru walked over to Naruko and delivered the news that shattered those crystal blue orbs. Her pain was so visible that Shikamaru had a hard time facing her while Neji looked away.

"He left me." Naruko's voice was so soft, barely a whisper, but the two boys could still hear the heartache detected in her tone. 'This is going to be a troublesome mission.' Shikamaru could feel the ominous threat that was looming over their shoulders. Even though a part of him wanted to be optimistic towards this mission, realistically, something was telling him there would be no happy ending when this mission came to a close.

After recruiting all the members for their retrieval mission, the group was ready to head out and retrieve Sasuke when the arrival of a crying Sakura stopped them. Naruko, upon hearing from Shikamaru how the pink-haired kunoichi tried to talk some sense into Sasuke before his departure, knew why Sakura had arrived and remained quiet. Since Shikamaru first recruited Naruko, the obnoxious loud blonde had been strangely silent throughout the whole recruiting process. Something which didn't sit right with those familiar with Naruko's personality, especially Shikamaru.

Naruko was loud, annoying, and hyperactive, but never silent and brooding. With Naruko acting like this, Shikamaru felt a strong premonition towards this mission. The Nara watched when Sakura cried and begged Naruko to bring back Sasuke. In the back of his head, Shikamaru wondered if Sakura's tears held love for Sasuke or were grieving over the loss of a friend and teammate.

He hoped that the girl still wasn't stupidly crushing on Sasuke. Don't get him wrong, he wasn't trying to add salt on her wounds, but any wise person could tell that Sasuke was never going to reciprocate her feelings, something which he said to Ino—it was better for both Sakura and Ino to move on than to keep hopelessly holding on to a person who will never return their feelings.

Five pairs of eyes watched as Naruko reached out and cupped Sakura's cheeks in the palms of her small hands. "It's okay! You did good, Sakura-chan, but now leave the rest to me!" Naruko smiled gently at the other girl, using her fingers to wipe away Sakura's tears. "I'll bring that teme back! So just be a little patience for me!" Holding the sobbing kunoichi in her arms, Naruko tried to soothe Sakura's worries.

The taller girl rested her head on the short blonde's shoulder, throwing her arms around Naruko's small waist as tears continually ran down her cheeks. Sakura felt so exhausted after her last encounter with Sasuke, briefly recalling those last words he said to her before knocking her unconscious.

'Move on and grow strong, Sakura. I'm not worth your time, but if there is one last thing I can ask of you, please watch over her for me.' Even towards the end, Sakura could not enter Sasuke's heart, but she didn't feel angry, only sadness as she hopelessly watched the boy who was her first love walk away from her.

"I'll wait..." These were the only words Sakura could utter.

She would leave everything in Naruko's hands, 'cause if Sakura couldn't stop him, surely Naruko could, right? "I'll be back, and I promise I'll have Sasuke with me!" There was something about Naruko's actions and words that made this scene hard for Shikamaru to watch. While the others may have found this scene touching, Shikamaru knew this was far from the truth. Because Naruko was lying to Sakura, and both of them knew it.

He could see the pain reflected in her eyes, the uncertainty she felt towards the success of this mission, but she couldn't tell Sakura this. The poor girl was hurting, and the truth would do nothing but hurt her more. So despite Naruko's own feelings of frustration, anger, and betrayal, she selflessly hid it all so that Sakura could feel reassured. Because unlike the rest of them, only Naruko truly knew Sasuke best... and something was telling her that he might not return.

End of Sasuke Retrieval Mission