Well, I wrote this fic right after Frozen, it's been a while ago. So there were some things I didn't know when I wrote it, like the Akatsuki or how strong Sakura would become. When I wrote this I just knew that Sasuke hated Itachi and that he was going to leave the hidden leaf village. So there might be some "mistakes" in this fic, especially about the Akatsuki, I hope you don't mind. Other than that it's a nice fic, I like it, although not as much as Frozen. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Missing Nin

Sakura ran through the forest as fast as her weakened body allowed her to. She was bleeding from countless cuts, but she had no time to worry about her injuries. They were close, too close. She thought of the corpses she had seen in that village and shivered unwillingly. The villagers had been dead; none would come to help her. She was out on her own now and she had to do everything she could to stay alive.

The sound of a sharp blade whistling through the air was her only warning. She dodged the kunai, but stumbled over something and fell against a tree. Suddenly, before she could react, they were everywhere. At least a dozen hunter nins from Konoha surrounded her. Quickly, she pulled out her own kunai. "Get away or I'll kill you!" It was an empty threat; she knew it, and they knew it. Sakura was weak and beaten; there was nothing she could do against the Leaf's elites.

A shuriken was thrown at her from behind and when she spun around to block it, a fist hit her from behind. She stumbled forward into the arms of another Hunter nin and he pulled out his knife to end this unfair fight. Sakura prepared herself for a last, desperate attack, but she never got the chance to defend herself.

A shadow fell upon her and then she heard a familiar voice cry out. "KATON! GOKAKYUU NO JUTSU!" Her eyes widened.

The bushes and trees surrounding her caught on fire. The shinobi that had caught her were attacked brutally. She spun around. Someone had come to save her from the Hunter nin. Strands of black hair covered his eyes and he was moving with inhuman speed. The fire made his pale skin glow an unnatural red. With her eyes wide from shock, Sakura watched as he killed every single one of her twelve pursuers. And when he was done, the fire went out.

He turned around to face her; his blood-red eyes surveyed her suspiciously. "So it's true. You're a missing-nin."

She just stared at him unbelievingly. "Sasuke?"

Without a reply he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along as he ran along the forest floor.

"You… you killed them!"

"So? They were going to kill you." He said and continued to pull her behind him.

---

Exhausted, Sakura sat down on the damp ground while Sasuke leaned against a tree. Both of them were breathing heavily. "Did you notice anyone else following you?" He asked breathlessly.

"No," she panted, "I don't think so."

"Good." He allowed her to rest for a few minutes, but said that they couldn't stay in one place for too long. So, when he started to move again, she was right behind him.

"Wait… are you… are you really Sasuke?" she asked. Right after she said it, she reddened. He hadn't changed a lot, except for the fact that he had gotten taller. His face had lost the teenage roundness, but he was still recognizable.

"Yes." he replied shortly. "I wouldn't have saved you if I didn't know who you were."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She said.

He didn't reply. Sakura didn't know what else to say, so she just kept following him. Too many thoughts were on her mind, she felt dizzy from everything that happened during the last few days. First she was banished from Konoha, and now this. After all these years she had finally met up with Sasuke again, but she couldn't even find the strength to be happy about it.

After a few more minutes of traveling at their fast pace, the trees opened up into a lush clearing where Sasuke (she supposed) had set up a tent. "What is this place?" she asked surprised. "Do you live here?"

"Just for the night." he explained. "I'm on my way back to my superiors."

"Superiors? Who..?" She asked, still breathing heavily.

"None of your concern." he interrupted her harshly. "I don't know yet if I can trust you."

Sakura deflated a bit. "Oh."

He quickly checked their surroundings for unwanted intruders. "So what are you going to do now? You don't have a home any more." He said, getting straight to the point.

Hesitantly, she nodded. "I don't know… so far I was just concentrating on getting rid of the Hunter-nin."

"What happened?" He asked, and Sakura sighed.

"A few days ago they found a man, a member of the Anbu, dead in the forest. They suspected me because they found one of my shuriken near the body. When they tried to arrest me, I ran away. Of course, they took that as a confession. I was declared a missing-nin and they sent the Hunter-nin after me."

He was listening to her calmly. "Did you do it?"

"Yes." She raised her head defiantly. "He deserved it."

"Why?"

Sakura bit her lower lip. "He hurt one of my students. She was a just little girl and he was molesting her! When she told me his name I tried to talk to him, but he was such an arrogant bastard, gloating about what he had done, how she had been asking for it, I just lost control and I killed him."

He eyed her suspiciously. "You killed an Anbu? At most, you're only Chuunin level."

"So? He was careless! He didn't think I would attack him. I didn't hesitate for long. The shuriken shocked him enough for me get a kunai and stab him." She lowered her head. "I'm not proud of it, but you didn't see the poor girl."

"You can't go back." He said, not asking a question.

"No. I've lost everything."

"You can come with me," he offered. "We have a few days of walking ahead of us, but when we're there I could ask my superiors to accept you as a member."

"Why would you do that for me?"

He shrugged. "We used to be friends. To be honest, I'm not even sure myself why I saved you. But you're here now, and I can't leave you alone. You can either work for the same people as me, or I can find you a village that's on the way and you can start all over again."

"And that means?" She asked, revering to working with Sasuke.

"Until they accept you, I can't say." he replied. "But it won't be easy. Their missions are different from the ones you're used to. You might have to do some," Sasuke paused, slightly, "Unpleasant things. They don't think very highly of a human life. That's why I'm also offering you a second choice. If you come with me, I can guarantee nothing. They might have you killed instantly."

"Alright. I'll think about it."

"Good." He walked over to the tent and pulled out his bag. "Sit down." He said and pointed at a flat rock in front of him. Sakura did as she was told.

Sasuke didn't seem to be affected by her story at all. Didn't he care that she was a murderer? Or that she was now a missing-nin? Had he become that cold?

He pulled out a medical kit and she remembered the bleeding cut on her shoulder. "Remove your shirt," he ordered and she blushed.

"But… I…"

He glared at her. "If your wound gets infected, you'll only slow me down. Take off your shirt."

She sighed. Sasuke was as dismissive as ever. He probably wouldn't even care if she sat there naked. She unzipped her dress and slid the fabric down to her waist. Sasuke cleaned the cut efficiently, and before long he announced he was done.

Sakura realized that she didn't even have any other clothes than the ones she was wearing. She hadn't had the time to take anything with her when she had left the village.

While she quickly got dressed, Sasuke looked up at the sky. "You should sleep. We have an exhausting day ahead of us." He said and pointed at the tent. "I'll keep watch."

Sakura thanked Sasuke again, and crawled into the tent. Inside there were just some of his clothes and a blanket. She wondered what might have made him choose this life over the safety he had at the Hidden Leaf Village. She tucked herself in and tried to relax. For the first time since her escape from Konoha, she felt safe. Because Sasuke was watching over her.

…tbc…