Early hours of the morning, Itachi stood beside Kisame overlooking the Rain village, he had spent the last few hours at one of the local pubs having a few drinks, he wasn't drunk by any means but tipsy. Kisame had joined him on his errands which ensured Sakura would be left alone in their room, Kisame had consuming a considerable amount of alcohol during his time with Itachi and was quite drunk. Itachi knew he should of headed back hours ago, but he knew she was occupied with his sharingan genjutsu.

"The kunoichi, causing you troubles"

"No"

"Is it wise to leave her alone in the room?"

"Kisame"

"I'm just asking"

They stared out at the view before them, Itachi considered heading home right now.

"Leader, has an interest in her"

"Leader, is concerned about the affect on missions"

"Leader…"

Itachi's gaze feel on Kisame, whose head rested on the bar as he spoke.

"What about Leader?"

"Sakura…Leader knows she was alone"

Trying to sense the sharingan world she was in, Itachi couldn't find her trapped within his sharingan, leaving for the Akatsuki base that hadn't happened before. If she had broken the bond he would of felt it, had something else happened that broke the bond. Feeling his body protesting as he approached the base, he entered through the main entrance, making his way through one hallway and then another towards his room. The door to his room was wide open, entering the room she was no where to be seen, the contents from beneath his bed spread across the floor. Cursing to himself, Itachi had screwed up. Looking round he could see the hallways where had she gone? Itachi tried to sense her chakra, he couldn't seem to find it within the base. Checking the nearby rooms he came across Pein, leaning against a wall as he rounded a corner.

"Where is she?"

"You lost her, Itachi?"

"Someone interfered with the jutsu she was under"

"The Akatsuki will assist with finding her"

Itachi nodded in understanding, he followed after Pein to the entrance a storm was beginning to set in outside. Leader and Itachi stood checking the ground for evidence of the kunoichi. Small foot steps caught Itachi's eyes, he crouched down they were leading out into the forest.

"You better find her, Itachi"

Feeling the slipping ground beneath her Sakura continued to run, how she had slipped past the many Akatsuki she would never know, except perfect timing. Her thighs burned as she kept pushing forwards, no idea where she was or where she was headed, it no longer mattered she just had to lose herself in this forest. No idea if anyone was following her rain was heavy as it fell around her. Beating down on her, Sakura could barely see the forest around her. Slipping she fell down on to the muddy ground below, stones grazing her knees and palms. Tears falling she was aware of the urgency of being able to put distance between them. Forcing herself up into a standing position, the material of the pants was ripped. Her shirt was ripped at her stomach, her blood mixed with the mud as she rain continued to fall. Running she tried to shield her eyes as she stumbled through the darkness, falling into a ditch in the path, Sakura let her tears fall, she was sore, she was freezing, the wind howled around her as the mud stuck to her in every way. How she wished something would just kill her or rescue her right now.

"Just kill me now"

Sakura laughed to herself, she couldn't think like this. She had escaped the Akatsuki base, she just needed to get home now. Just needed to find an ally of some kind, the forest around her reminding her very much like home, the trees and the ground was much like the village she knew so well. Could it be that they were near the leaf, there was no landmarks that she had come across to confirm her theory but at a guess she was near Leaf. Pulling her tired body up, she continued to move. Stumbling down into a deep puddle, Sakura was shaking from the cold that swarmed her, from the pain that engulfed her body. Barely able to move Sakura set her head against a large boulder, shutting her eyes she allowed the sleep to take over. She had been missing for hours, the concern was had someone else found her, had she travelled enough to be found by her village, had she hurt herself. Itachi raced through the forest, the rain now falling heavily as was normal within Rain. His hood up to try and protect his eyes from the rain, the darkness that the clouds had thrown the forest into didn't help matters. Any evidence of footprints was long gone, washed away with the rain, but the last prints he saw she had been heading this way. He had stumbled across a black piece of fabric he believed to be from the pants that she was wearing, it had just been on the floor when he had landed. He was headed in the right direction, but why hadn't he found her. The further away from the Akatsuki base, the more concerned he was getting. This area was patrolled by the Akatsuki, there was a lot of rogue, sound and bandits in these areas.

"Any sign of her?"

Leader ran up beside Itachi, both covered in their cloaks as they stood beneath a tree trying to stay out of the weather.

"Signs, she was headed this way. She couldn't of gotten much further, unless she has assistance"

Pein hoped that one of the many bandits would take care of the kunoichi for them, he didn't wish for her to be returned to the compound alive. He had paid bandits in these woods to find and kill her, but like the Akatsuki the bandits were most likely struggling to find the kunoichi.

"Itachi, she was your responsibility"

"I know, Leader"

Itachi needed to find her fast, Leader would be none too pleased if she shared anything she had leant during the duration of her stay. Trying to find her chakra, he still couldn't find it. The bracelet she worse should assist him in sensing her but right now he could feel nothing, the thought occurred to him that maybe she was dead. Continuing to look, Itachi travelled with Leader, they stayed on the ground, knowing that she was likely not to be travelling by the branches especially in this weather, Leader went his own way as the path branched off to a small nearby town Itachi kept moving along the path that he knew needed up in Leaf.