A/N- the link in the last chap didnt work, just type in Deviantart and then copy and paste the rest of the link that showed up on the last chap. I apologize.

- "A string can be tied into many different kinds of knots, no matter what though, when it's undone it's the same string"-

"She WHAT?!" Naruto and Tsunade roared in unison.

"She said not to worry about her; she knows what she's doing." Neji stood next to Shikamaru in the Hokage's office expanding on the news they had just delivered. Naruto had already been in there when they had un-expectantly returned.

"What is that supposed to mean? How could she just go off with an S-rank criminal!?" Tsunade dunk her head into her palms, Naruto wincing at the way she referred to Sasuke, though equally angered.

"She said it was her duty as a med-nin to help the wounded. It was completely her choice." Shikamaru explained though Tsunade took no comfort and sighed heavily into her dismayed position.

"What about him, you saw him?" Naruto inquired with wide eyes.

Tsunade looked up to see the two of the three she had sent on the mission nod in response, "Did he look to be dangerous?"

"Well," Neji started, "He didn't appear aggressive, but I saw his chakra from at least 350 meters away. He's defiantly strong." This caused Tsunade to rest her head on her entwined hands, closing her eyes in upset.

"He was traveling with another shinobi from his team; he appeared to be of the mist I believe." Shikamaru added.

"Damn-it," Naruto fisted the desk, causing Tsunade to glare at him with disgust toward his rudeness. "Where were they heading."

"Naruto, he said that he would take care of her, only on the condition that we keep our distance from him." Neji knew his implications.

"She said she was just going to heal the one team member right?" Naruto watched as Neji reluctantly nodded, "so we can pick up searching for him when she returns, then she'll have inside information anyway."

"Maybe, but for now, he has her." Shikamaru remarked.

Tsunade pulled her entwined fingers closer together, "We need to get ANBU."

"What?," Naruto turned to her, "He wouldn't hurt her. I know he wouldn't. Me, he might try, but not her."

Shikamaru and Neji nodded, though with less confidence than Naruto. Tsunade's eyes darted from all of their reassuring faces before leaning back into the chair, thinking of Sasuke's requests, "For now, all efforts in searching for Uchiha Sasuke are on hold. But as soon as Sakura returns, they recommence." Naruto clenched his jaw at the idea of stopping all tracking; it was difficult enough to locate the Uchiha the first time around. Shikamaru and Neji both nodded, more at ease knowing that now Sasuke's conditions were met. "But until then, I want all of you and the other Chunnin level shinobi to join in as a team, Hitake Kakashi and Yamato will be the squad commanders," all of their brows raised, "your mission, is to track Haruno Sakura, and bring her back to Konoha."

She wasn't as puerile (childish) and exuberant as she had been the last time he had really been around her. Her eyes were still bright, but the sight behind them, was one of worry and age. She had matured a great deal in many aspects. Even then, standing relaxed inside the cold room of the old Uchiha hide-out; he could feel the level of skill she had with chakra control, something that he could use for his team. Her features also more detailed and fine, sculpted almost. But, there was more to her, something that he couldn't ignore.

No matter how much he pulled from the feeling, it only pulled him in more tightly.

So he hesitated, sinking into the familiar gaze she was gifting him, even if his face showed pure omission, "I need a med-nin on the team if I'm going to make my way to Itachi. So, yes, you're a part of my platoon."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, nonplussed, "I thought that would be one of the last things that you would want."

"You're highly skilled," –and intensely magnetic- "Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin are not as developed in self healing as I am. Having a med-nin around when they get torn up in battle will be very useful." –even if it risks my control-

She pulled her lower lip in, thinking about Naruto, all of Konoha, "Sasuke-kun, I'm not sure-"

"-I need your help." He spoke more desperately and abruptly than he had wanted to with her.

His request caught her off guard, still apprehensive to his behavior. Last time, with Orochimaru…he seemed so much colder…he really is still Sasuke-kun. She wanted more than anything to well-up; for she had sworn to herself that he was changed, that he would be so different and hard to reach. But, she could see him. His stony eyes still had something satisfyingly familiar, something comforting and desirable. "….Okay." she said without thinking much, only able to see the moment of chance, lured by his almost affectionate behavior from before.

He nodded and opened the door, arriving at the meeting spot seconds before the rest of the platoon gathered in the spot, Karin being the first, directly followed by Suigetsu and Juugo. They had coal colored cloaks draped over their shoulders.

Karin holding one extra, bee-lining to Sasuke to drape it over his shoulders, "These will keep us warm and dry in the rain Sasuke-kun." She spoke.

He took the cloak, mid-way through her efforts to touch him, "I can do it myself." He hated when others did deeds like that for him. Made him feel weak, inferior.

Karin 'humphed' before turning her glassed eyes to Sakura, spotting the Uchiha fan hanging on the red string, "What is she wearing?" her tone agitated.

Sakura insinuated appreciation as Suigetsu handed her a cloak, he raised his eye brows to the Uchiha insignia dangling from the crimson strings. Sasuke retorted quickly as Sakura swung the cloak over her shoulders, "She'd stand out too much in clothing from the leaf."

Before Karin had any time to express her fiery jealousy through argument, Sasuke had started forward. "Let's go."

They all followed behind, Suigetsu smirking at Karin's infuriation.

"So," Suigetsu started, he and Sakura were in the back of the promenade. "You're wearing his clan symbol you know."

She looked down at the spot where the silver and red emblem was pressed to her chest from the weight of the warm cloak, "Yeah, I don't think there was much in the way of options."

He snickered, " Suure … …Heh! Karin's so PO'd, this is great. If you couldn't tell, she's obsessed with Sasuke." Sakura looked to the rest of the team in-front of them, making sure that they weren't too close to hear his hushed tone. "Hey, this means you're on the team too right? I mean, you healed Karin and Sasuke seemed pretty impressed with your skills. You'd be good on the team."

She smiled at his praise, even more so that he had mentioned Sasuke being impressed, though not announcing that he already asked her to be on the team, feeling it to be more Sasuke's place.

^*^*^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Sasuke stopped at the edge of the trail, Sakura could see a village off in the west, "Everyone set out. We can all meet back up at dusk."

"Suigetsu, I'll take this side of the woods." Juugo declared.

Suigetsu nodded and headed to the right before slowing and turning his chin to his shoulder and singing with a sly look to Sakura, "Have fuuun."

She crinkled her brow, knowing his implications.

"Karin, get going." Sakura turned to Sasuke, he was scolding Karin, who stood apprehensive to leave her 'Sasuke-kun'. She furrowed her expression at Sakura before nearly stomping in the village's direction.

Sasuke started moving, the pale rosette whispering before following, "She's a lot of fun."

"You just have to get used to her. We don't all have to get along, just work together when the time comes." He's answer was bleak. She was longing to have a conversation with him.

"Sasuke-kun," she said after a moment of walking, an increasing distance between themselves and the scattered woods. She needed to talk with him, the thoughts of Naruto, Tsunade, Kakashi, Sai, all of her family and friends in Konoha were seeping into her mind like a burst pipe covered by a weak wall, "I'm worried about everyone back at Konoha." He had no reaction, so she went on, "They're going to think that I'm abandoning them. I wouldn't do that."

She was impressed on how skilled he was at not even making the slightest flinch when confronted, "Once Itachi is dead, you can go back."

Her hand pulled out from the cloak to brush a tussle of pink from her cheek, noticing the extensive amount of times he was using 'can', as though he wouldn't let her go back until his revenge was full through, "I should at least send them a message, they might worry and look for me."

"Neji and Shikamaru already know what I said. If they're smart, they wouldn't allow that to happen." She noticed that there was a narrowing of his eye of to the distance, trailing something in the far sky with his sable orbs.

She thought back to standing in the snow with her previous team, explaining the situation to a confused Shikamaru.

"As long as everyone sticks to their word, nothing is going to happen to her." He had said, implying a passive threat. He wouldn't hurt her, would he? She looked down thinking back further, she could still feel the electricity's effect on her nerves.

Her concern grew as they proceeded forward in the woods, his eye's concentration increased with each couple of steps, though she couldn't see anything in the distant land, "Is something wrong? Can you see something?"

He said nothing; his pace just slowed a bit, still intently eyeing the distance, which looked like dry mountainous land to Sakura. "Go find Karin in the Village. Help her with her searching and errands."

"But, you said that you only needed one person to search the village. What do you see over there?-"

"I said go!" He stopped short in his tracks, his eyes bloody red and sinking quickly into hers. The stern expression on his face conflicted with Sakura's belief that he would hurt her. "Tell Karin to keep an eye out. She get's distracted sometimes." He turned away, leaving Sakura with her feet spread apart, like she was torn in both directions but hesitant to approach either. "Go Sakura."

She waited a second longer before heeding to his command, her eyes slowly rolling off his spiked hair, turning in the direction of the village to find Karin.

Sakura kept her head low as she made way through the crowded village in search for the red headed, hot tempered 'teammate' of hers. She spotted Karin passing by outdoor shops and pretending to look at the items, though Sakura knew that she was doing so to be able to scope out who was who.

This is going to be fun…Sakura pressed her lips together in resentment, wishing Sasuke hadn't sent her to the village to find Karin, "Karin," She said as she reached and audible distance from the back of Karin's head.

The dark glassed roseate snapped her head around, pulling a hand up from under her cloak to balance her glasses on her nose, "What are you doing here?"

"Sasuke-kun said that I should come help you," Karin rolled her eyes and stepped over to the next shop, Sakura following; speaking with slight concern, "I think he saw something."

"I don't need your help." Ignoring Sakura's concerned remark.

Her patience was wearing out with the red-head tracking-nin, "I don't really care whether or not you need help, did you even hear what I just said?"

Karin put her hand on her hip from beneath her cloak, "What do you mean?"

Sakura joined in the exaggerated posture game and crossed her arms, "He was staring off into the distance, then he told me that I should head over to you."

"He always looks off into the distance." Her eyes narrowed.

"He was concentrating on something in particular, like he was following it with his eyes." Karin raised an eyebrow while the other wrinkled, "He also told me to tell you to keep on track, you tend to 'get distracted'?" she had added that for a bit of a punch.

The red headed kunoichi clenched her jaw in thought before turning to walk away, only pausing to say, "You can follow me, just don't get in my way."

-Meanwhile..-

Sasuke turned his chin a little to let the cool breeze swipe the hair from his line of vision. He had seen something off in the distance, the further he approached; the sense of chakra seemed to be doubling.

He finally stopped where the chakra felt most concentrated, looking around covertly. The rise and fall of mountains in the distance; though he had little time to take in the visually pleasing surroundings, instead turning when he heard a branch shift abnormally. "Whoever it is, show yourself." His tone deepened.

An Akatsuki cloaked figure emerged from behind the trees, an orange mask bearing only a hole for his left eye on top of the figures face, "Uchiha Sasuke, I presume. I've heard much about you."

He stepped closer to Sasuke, resulting in the traditional glare from the obsidian eyes. One that Sasuke never even bothered to put thought into, but it managed to send him scuttling back to the edge of the trees, "Man! You're scary!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in on the man, trying to identify his odd behavior as some tactic, and it was. He looked up, feeling a change in air pressure and wind speed. To his well hidden surprise, an Akatsuki member was swooping down from the sky on top of what appeared to be a paper jutsu. They crashed into the ground, a painfully loud crash of paper producing layers of dust blocking any view until it settled, Orochimaru's snack coiled around him as protection.

Sasuke glared with reddened eyes at the masked Akatsuki member from behind the snake's coils, dashing so quickly toward him that is was as though he simply appeared in front of him with attack.

"Damn, he's so fast." The pony-tailed Akatsuki leaped back into the tree with haste. Sasuke swiped his katana across his victim, sending him to the ground.

"You seem to talk an awful lot like you know about me. What do you know about Itachi?" he felt confident, though became taken aback to see him rise so quickly.

"Common Tobi! He's just a kid! Pick up your game!" The pony tailed Akatsuki hollered from the trees.

"He's fast!" the masked man retorted, backing away as he saw his comrade readying an attack. Sasuke observed as the pony-tailed man reached beneath his coat, pulling out round paper balls into his hands.

"Watch it Tobs!" he yelled as he released them through a hand seal, the paper weapons dispersed, spreading around Sasuke as they expanded into what looked like parchment ticks. He readied himself with electricity flowing generously through his palms; this would be a battle more difficult than he had thought. He leaped from the ground, dodging the parchment insects and reappearing only in the form of an explosion on the branch that the pony-tailed had crouched in.

"Deidara-sempaaaiiii!" Tobi called out on his knees, "No! I admit you're a pain sometimes but you're a good sempai!"

"Will you shut your trap!?" Deidara slid from the blast, residual dust whipping around his feat at his stop, "I just managed to move. He's pretty good. I'll have to up my chakra levels to C2."

Sasuke was more frustrated than he had wanted to be, this aren't guys to mess with… He thought whilst watching as a massive paper dragon appeared behind his two opponents.

"Get ready Tobi!" Deidara yelled as Sasuke came whisking over, a blast sending him back before he had reached them, he felt it all over his body. No, this would most certainly not be an easy battle.

-Hour Later-

Sakura had been trailing around Karin for too long, at least an hour and a half. Getting bored of Karin's perusal, she started a conversation. "How long have you known Sasuke-kun?"

She scoffed, "Since he joined with Orochimaru, I worked in the prison the he kept full of test-patients."

Sakura looked down at the dirt, "You know him well then?"

"Probably better than you." She remarked with a callous smirk.

Sakura grimaced, she was trying to make a better relationship with the girl, but that didn't seem to work, "Yeah right, you've only known him for three years! Besides, did you spend almost every day with him? I've known him since we were young." She snapped.

"Pardon me, but he's a lot different from what you know of him." She glared at her jade eyes, vibrant with emotion.

"Maybe you could say that, but a string can be tied into many different kinds of knots, no matter what though, when it's undone it's the same string." She sagaciously schooled her.

Karin's face soured heavily, looking as though she was going to really start up a scene, a few towns people had already glanced their way in annoyance. But, she didn't, instead looking straight back through the edge of town where the mountain line was, Sakura turned to look, just seconds before a massive explosion erupted into the sky. The whole village turned to watch, though none as intently as the two kunoichi.

Karin and Sakura both paled, "Sasuke was over there." Karin whispered. Sakura held her eyes on the sluggishly dissipating smoke and dirt that had been thrust into the sky, "I can't feel his chakra."

They ran as fast as they could to reach the location of the heart wrenching explosion. Sakura's heart was nearly thrusting out of her chest as she leaped through the trees behind Karin. Fearing the worst, hoping for the best.

She raced next to Karin, following her lead to Sasuke. Her heart was pounding wildly, more from fear and anticipation than the tire of the sprint through the trees.

"He should be around here somewhere!" Karin pressed off of the ground to land her feet into the branch of a tree, Sakura joining in suit, landing one branch below her before leaping agilely to the next. "He's through this patch of trees."

She panted, nodding in self response.

When they had finally reached him, he was in a spot that had been almost cleared of foliage. Suigetsu beside his battered body which lay with one elbow on the ground , the other arm clutching his toned bare side. "What happened?!" pink and red said in unison.

"I located Akatsuki, the one I fought was stronger than I had thought." Sasuke huffed out, the large serpent Sasuke had absorbed from Orochimaru wheezed as it died.

"Aw poor guy." Suigetsu commented as Sakura ran to kneel across from Suigetsu, placing a hand on Sasuke's battered shoulder, "You forced the poor thing into a genjutsu."

"I had no other choice," he choked out, glancing at the lifeless serpent before leaning into Sakura's warm touch subconsciously to assist in his efforts to sit up. She was taken aback as she scanned the area around them, the large serpent lifeless, the debris of paper from the battle scattered about.

"You, ki-" she started in shock.

"Yeah." he breathed in heavily.

Juugo had arrived as well, eyeing the hand Sakura had rest on his shoulder, "Heal him." His command was gentle.

She looked down to Sasuke from her knelt position, his eyes heavy; staring down through his bent knees. His wounds were mostly minor, but that was only external. The dirt around his deepest wound made her apprehensive to seal them without getting cleaned first. "I'll work on the major internal injuries, but I want to wait on the open wounds to clean them up first." The med-nin in her clicked on.

"I'll go find a good spot for us to rest afterwards, be back in like, 20 minutes?" Suigetsu stood and waited for everyone's nod before moving out towards the village.

Sasuke being the only one too exhausted to respond, "I'm fine, I just need to rest for a while." His breath was forced.

"Sasuke-kun," she slid her fingers past his ear, pulling strands of dirty coal hair behind it whilst ignoring Karin's beaming eyes burning holes in her back. "Just sit back onto this okay?" she disengaged her cloak, laying it out behind him before helping him to lay back. She couldn't help but to wince with him in pain as his back came in contact with the blanketed rough ground.

Her palms made way to his chest and lean abdomen, examining the damage before tending to it. The two broken ribs were fused in a matter of minutes, relief from pain showing on his battle scared face. The bruising on his abdomen already informed her of the internal bleeding.

"How bad is it?" Karin inquired with her arms crossed, cockily leaning her weight on one leg.

Sakura waited to heal one source of the enclosed blood flow, trying her best to ignore how he faced his head to one side with closed eyes and a small moan of pain. "It's almost done. He'll just need to rest to rebuild his chakra." Despite the pain, Sakura's eminent sage hued chakra felt warm and soothing on his tensed skin.

Suigetsu returned within moments of the healings denouement, Sasuke loosely wrapped his bare arm around Sakura's small shoulders to her offered assistance in proceeding with him the rest of the way, his ankle still fractured. Karin had soon wrapped around his other side more in competition than compassion. They made way to a safer place.

Reviews! They are my reason for writing ^^ Thank you to all who have and do.

So, not as much angst this time around. On my Livejournal, I said that I would give the chapters more time to sink into the system before posting new ones, but everone wanted the next chapter, so I stayed up to, *looks at clock* 1:37am for you all. And I have school tomorrow.

I'd expect the next Chapie by Fridays sometime, entitled, "Temptation to Pull". Updates/ sneak-peeks on my Livejournal as I go. (link is in my profile)

So tell me what works, what doesnt work, what I can improve on and what I suck at haha, I'd like to utilize this story to simultaneously enhance my writing skills.