Resolve

The three genins of Team Kakashi stood with their feet rooted to the ground and unpleasant shock plastered on their faces at Tsunade's latest revelation to them.

"W-What's going on, Tsunade-baa-chan? Where's this coming from?" Naruto was the first to speak, his voice uneven as opposed to the usual loud and imposing tone he uses.

"A representative from Iwagakure was here this morning with the official seal of the Tsuchikage as proof of his validity, they want to negotiate terms for the Sakura's return to Iwa" Tsunade explained evenly, giving nothing away in her hazel eyes.

Both Sasuke and Naruto turned their heads to look at their pink-haired teammate, both curious and worried about her reaction to this new information. Her face had paled considerably and her body trembled with the slightest of shakes as if she was trying to hide her reaction from everyone. "Sato Kuutatsu…" the name was the only thing that drifted from her lips before the door to the Hokage office opened abruptly and a tall man with a long scar stretching diagonally across his face entered. His hair was trimmed in a buzz cut and he wore a long black coat and he wore his village's headband around his neck. Sasuke would bet his life that he had a katana strapped somewhere on him in that oversized coat of his.

Sakura turned around so violently, Sasuke and Naruto who were standing next to her have felt the slight shift on air from her moment. As soon as the man's eyes landed on Sakura, she stiffened and he smiled a slow and languorous smile "Haruno" his voice was slick and filled with false tones of pleasantry.

"M-Master…" Sakura uttered back instinctively then flinched when he took a step towards her but looked up when Sasuke and Naruto had shuffled protectively in front of her. They looked up at him, challenging him and daring him to take that next step forward to see what they'll do to him if he caused Sakura anymore discomfort.

Tsunade cleared her throat "Sato" she clipped professionally. Willing him to stand down with the fierce look in her eyes. Amused, the Iwa representative raised his hands in mock surrender and walked around the three genins to stand next to Tsunade's desk.

"Iwa wants Sakura back within their borders and for Konoha not to interfere while they transport her back. It says so in the letter that that is non-negotiable. Should Konoha fail to do so, Iwagakure has threatened us with war"

Sakura gasped and looked up helplessly at the sly man in the room.

"That's bullshit and you know it, Tsunade-baa-chan! Sakura-chan belongs in Konoha!" Naruto yelled and for one, Sasuke didn't disagree.

"I'll go" an even voice sounded from behind Naruto. Sakura stepped around him to stand in front of Sato Kuutatsu. Her voice sounded cold and distant in their ears and the Iwa-nin smirked knowingly as he reached his hand out towards Sakura, however before he could so much as touch her, she was yanked back by a firm hand.

"She's not leaving" the words seemed like something Naruto would say but the calm and smooth voice that had said it did not belong to the lovable knucklehead. Instead, Sakura turned her head to see Sasuke's clenched jaw and menacing dark eyes directly at the man before them.

Kuutatsu seemed mildly amused with Sasuke's guts but the annoyance flitted across his features had Sakura flinching in Sasuke's hold.

Please don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me. Sakura chanted the words in her head like a mantra internally but remained emotionless on the outside. Sasuke knew better than to believe she was unaffected. It was her knee-jerk reaction to wipe her face of emotion whenever she was scared beyond her limits. He's seen her. He's watched her done it. Eventually he saw the pattern and he'd be damned before he allowed himself to believe that she was fine after some bastard shows up and tries to take away the best thing that's ever happened to her.

The man turned to look at Tsunade. "This is an interference against our retrieval and a direct act of disrespect towards the Tsuchikage himself. Are you sure you wish to induce war upon Konoha?" The man was facing Sasuke but his eyes were on Sakura. "I don't remember raising you to allow others fight your battles, Haruno" Kuutatsu's eyes flitted to Sasuke before dismissing his presence completely.

"No!" the words were out of Sakura's mouth before she could register it, yet she didn't quite know which one she was denying. About letting others fight her battles or about the war her former master was threatening her village with. Either way, she needed to go back. Her sacrifice would be a small price to pay as compared to the lives that would be lost in a war between Iwa and Konoha.

Looking towards Tsunade, her green eyes pleaded with the Hokage to allow her to make the sacrifice. With a resigned, knowing look, the fifth Hokage finally spoke. "Sakura will return to Iwagakure with Sato Kuutatsu. This is my final decision. I cannot risk antagonizing the Tsuchikage in our village's current state."

Tsunade's words hit them like a ton of bricks and both boys shot the blonde woman a look of absolute disbelief. "You coward!" Naruto bellow, his fist clenched so tightly by his sides that his knuckles began to pale. "Sakura-chan is one of us! How could you do this to one of your own shinobi?" he yelled, his voice booming throughout the room.

Tsunade showed no acknowledgement to Naruto's protests but merely furrowed her brows and stared coldly ahead at the space in front of her. Sasuke's thoughts were going at a hundred miles an hour. What can he do to stop this? To keep Sakura here and keep her safe from the sly bastard? Why is Tsunade relenting like this? Where the fuck is Kakashi when they needed him? He always knew what to do when they in trouble. They needed him now!

His thoughts when up in smoke like a train-wreck when Sakura's shoulder brushed gently past him as she made her way toward the man who was causing her so much fear. "We will leave as soon as you're ready." His voice ringing with a false gentleness that makes Sasuke's skin crawl and fight his instinct to pull Sakura behind him. She's already made up her mind, why should he try to change it? What say did he have in her decision?

"You won't be needing any of your unnecessary possession here, all that you will ever need is back in the training base" Kuutatsu informed, looking pointedly at Sasuke and Naruto as he mentioned Sakura's possession. Conniving bastard!

"Yes, master" her voice sounded so resigned, so defeated, so sorrowful, Sasuke knew then that he couldn't let her go through with it. He would talk her out of it, he was a person of few words but he was willing to try if that would stop Sakura from leaving. He could convince her out of this, he just needed time.

"Sato" Tsunade's voice felt like a lifeline for the boys. "If you are to take Sakura then I would like to request that she be allowed time until sundown." The blonde Hokage suggested. "For her sake of closure." She added. At that, Sasuke wanted to kiss at the ground in which his Hokage walked. Glancing out the window, he noted that the sun was halfway down the sky which meant it was somewhere in the afternoon which meant a few hours at most for him to convince Sakura out of her decision.

"Ah, I will allow that. We don't want any hard feelings, no do we?" the man smirked and Naruto's arm twitched, impulsively wanting to land a solid punch on that smug face of his. "Don't get any ideas on running away, Haruno. We will always find you." He reached out and brushed his long and thin fingers into Sakura's hair, gathering it and allowing the strands to fall from between his fingers.

Naruto reached out as Sasuke thought to do the same, yanking her away from the man and towards the door without another word. Sasuke followed after his teammates but not before shooting a glare over his shoulder at sly bastard.

As Naruto stormed down the Hokage tower with Sakura in tow, Sasuke watched as the kunoichi allowed herself to be dragged around. No longer is there any bounce in her steps or energy in her movements.

"Naruto" she murmured quietly as they were crossing the courtyard of the Hokage residence. Her voice hollow and soft but Naruto heard her nonetheless, stopping to acknowledge her. She tugged at her hand, prompting Naruto to free her from his grasp. Then, without another word, she continued to walk towards the village.

At first they had followed after her, thinking she was trying to tell them something. Hoping that maybe she had a plan. It became apparent that Sakura had no thoughts of rebelling against Sato Kuutatsu's orders as she was beginning to walk towards the village entrance, they followed her nonetheless.

They stopped just short of the village guardhouse where there was a stone bench just at the side of the path. Sakura walked over to it and sat down, her posture rigid and her eyes blank. Naruto and Sasuke simply stood towards the side, no quite knowing what to do.

"You can't leave us, Sakura-chan" Naruto was first to break the silence, his voice soft and pleading but Sakura didn't so much as bat an eyelash when she was usually so compassionate towards others. "Say something, Sakura-chan. Tell us you have a plan." Naruto approached her and Sasuke could tell from the way his hands were twitching that he was struggling against the urge to take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, because that was just what Naruto would do. Always seizing the bull by the horns.

But when he caught a glimpse of the absolute coldness in her eyes, even Naruto's radiance stood no chance against her. Sasuke was a master at controlling his emotions from a very young age and he's seen the exact pair of blank eyes through the mirror when his parents had died- Until he met her. With her mysterious past and impossibly selfless nature, she made him feel again. She made him let her in and now was his chance to repay her.

Walking up to her, seizing her by the shoulders and forcing her to look into his eyes. "You are a coward, Sakura" he sneered.

"You bastard!" Naruto growled, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulders to try and pull him off Sakura but Sasuke shrugged his hand off, eyes never leaving Sakura's.

"I don't remember having a coward as a teammate." He growled lowly in his throat when she didn't respond. "You're scared, Sakura. It's so obvious that you are. Who the fuck are you trying to fool here? He's going to take you back to that place, Sakura. He's going to drag you back into the dark, cold place and he's going to turn you back into that killing machine" she blinked and he knew that was a sign that he was getting through to her. He's heard her nightmares from his room and he's seen her red eyes in the morning from a night of terrors.

"Do you think that just by leaving Konoha, that you're protecting it? Stop being so naïve, Sakura!" Sasuke yelled into her face and released her shoulders with a light shove as he straightened. "Who's to say that in the future, he won't make you kill one of us? That he won't give you the orders to assassinate the fifth?" her body visibly flinched at the idea.

"Do you think that if you leave, you'll suddenly be revered as a hero? Is that what you want? Because I assure you, Sakura, there are plenty of other ways to get that title. You're no hero, Sakura. You're just a coward." Sasuke's chest was beginning to heave with all the talking. He's never spoken so much at once before.

Sakura stood abruptly, her eyes blazing with a temper that Sasuke has never seen before. "What do you know, Sasuke?" her voice sounded strong and even. Even though she was feeling far from it. "You've never seen the terrible things that his trained assassins can do? You don't know what army he comes with. You have never seen enough bloodshed in your entire life to know that Sato Kuutatsu is no man." Sakura took in a shaky breath before her voice cracked as she said her next words. "He's a monster."

Sasuke hadn't realized that he and Sakura stood directly in front of each other. He could feel her uneven breaths brushing his face and he was fairly sure she could feel his as well. "You have to fight him, Sakura. The more you fear him, the more control he has over you. You've opposed him once, you can do it again." Sasuke said, his voice, encouraging.

She wanted to believe in him, she really did. But the moment she felt like she could do it, that she could oppose her former master, she swore she saw his face in the trees. When she blinked, he was no longer there but her resolve had been shaken and her face swept of any emotion. "I cannot disobey his orders." She recited mechanically and Sasuke cursed under his breath.

…

Any attempts at getting Sakura to change her mind had been in vain for the past few hours and now it was time for them to leave. Sato Kuutatsu's presence had sent a bout of blind panic in the boys of Team Kakashi's hearts. They were going to lose her. She was going to walk out the village and right out of their lives. They could do nothing but stand and watch as her figure disappeared through the village entrance and into the forest.

They waited, rooted to the ground as the night sky darkened. "Dobe" Sasuke started.

"Teme" Naruto acknowledged.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Let's go"

…

The blow came when Sakura least expected it. When they had finally walked far enough from the village and Sakura turned around to see the village out of sight, a blunt force exploded on the back her head and she was send sprawling a few feet from where she stood. Adrenalin coursed through her body but her head was hazy from the force of the blow. As she moved to pick herself from the ground, a weight slammed itself onto her back and forced her down into the dirt.

She gasped for air when she felt her chest crush against the ground but remained still, her heart thumping frantically as she prayed that his rage would quell soon. Cold, callous fingers tangled itself in her hair and he pulled her head up to snarl in her ear. "Did you forget my promise to you the first night you tried to run away?"

Sakura stiffened at the memory. He had beaten her within an inch of her life and swore if she had tried to run away again, he would come after her. He was going to kill her. Sakura sucked in a gulp of air to relieve the burning in her lungs and the discomfort in her windpipe at having her neck bent back. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her in fear, because it only served to fuel his sick fantasies. Maybe he would kill her without torturing her too much.

The next blown slammed her right in the ribcage as he kicked her across the clearing, she bounced and skidded across the dirt until her back came into contact with a tree. From then on, her head was fuzzy with the pain and her last conscious thoughts were of the village who had treated her like their own.

…

The way her eyes had flickered with so much fear and anguish as she called the man a monster will forever be ingrained in his mind. She wasn't just afraid of returning to Iwa, there was something about that man that frightened her so much it could be seen through her impenetrable mask. With that thought, Sasuke upped his speed, leaving Naruto behind as he followed the path and allowed his sharingan to lead him.

He could see traces of her chakra, gentle green and flowy next to Kuutatsu's chaotic, violent shade of dark blue. It was faded but there nonetheless. As he ran, the color got stronger and he knew he was going the right way.

They were an hour into the forest and impatience crept up on them, fueling their steps before their attention snapped towards a vicious snarl. Both genins came to a stop and they both looked at each other knowingly, Sasuke traced the trail of chakra to a clearing just ahead of them. Just as they took the step forward to confront the enemy, a shuriken came zipping back their heads as they just narrowly avoided the projectile.

"Come out!" a loud bellow shook the leaves of the trees around them.

Cautiously, Naruto and Sasuke stepped up and their blood froze. Standing in the middle of the clearing was a livid-faced Kuutatsu and crumpled just a few feet away from where he stood, was a battered and bruised Sakura.

"You bastard!" Naruto snarled, clenching his fist and taking a step forward but Sasuke lifted a hand in front of him and shot him a look. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled out instead.

The motionless body flinched and Sakura's arm twitched as she struggled to look up. However, the Iwa representative was fast, too fast for them to see. The kick was abrupt and came from nowhere. One moment, they were watching Sakura struggle to move and the next, she was tumbling over the dirt as Kuutatsu landed a sharp kick to her side.

"I'll kill you!" Naruto snarled and Sasuke could feel the vicious red chakra begin to seep through the blonde's body. Naruto lunged at the tall man whilst Sasuke summoned his fuuma shuriken and flung it at where he would retreat to dodge Naruto's attack.

However, he didn't dodge it. Instead he smashed a palm into Naruto's chest and sent him flying backwards. Sasuke missed.

"Insolent brats! Where are your manners?" Kuutatsu snarled. Naruto staggered back on his feet, heaving breaths of airs to compensate for the air that had been knocked out of his lungs at the blow.

Sasuke's eyes held Kuutatsu's furious gaze steady as he called out to Sakura. "Sakura" he tried her name, mentally willing her to move in his peripheral vision. She stirred and the moment he saw Kuutatsu twitch, Sasuke tugged at his fuuma shuriken with his sharingan controlled wires and called it back. The projectile caught the Iwa-nin by surprise, forcing him a leap back from his original position and further away from Sakura.

"Fight back, Sakura!" Sasuke yelled all of the sudden, his chest heaving with frustration at Sakura and fury for the man that dared cause her so much pain. "You're stronger than you used to be and he's no longer your master. Get up!" His face scrunched with anger and sharingan spinning as he dared Kuutatsu a step forward.

A sudden, amused smirk appeared on the Iwa-nin's face, as if he didn't believe Sakura had the power to oppose him. Sakura moved, her actions seemingly fueled by Sasuke's word. She managed to push herself off the ground before Kuutatsu seized her by the hair. They hadn't even seen him move.

"Let her go." Sasuke's voice an eerily calm threat. His ear picked up the soft sound that is Sakura's whimper and his blood goes into a frenzy. The jagged feeling of the cursed seal's effect burning at his neck.

Sakura spat out a thick wad of blood mixed with her saliva and struggled against Kuutatsu's grip to look up at her teammates. Bruises marred her cheekbone, her jaw and a trail of blood trickled down the side of her lips. The look of pure and utter defeat and desperation etched on her features. Her next words set their blood on fire. "I want to go home" she choked, breaths heaving and tears welling up in her eyes. "I want to go home" she croaked, softer this time.

A dark purple blur tackled Kuutatsu to the ground and they both slammed straight into the trees. Sakura looked up just in time to see Naruto lunge past her, his body fully coated in red chakra. Sakura attempted to push herself to sit in an upright position but the constant stabbing in her chest told her that a rib has probably punctured her lungs. So she opted to turn herself over to lie on her sore back before forming the necessary seals she needed to heal herself.

I need to help Naruto and Sasuke.

Whilst Sakura was concentrating on regaining her mobility, Naruto and Sasuke were proving to be a more formidable opponent than Kuutatsu had thought. Their fury-fueled movements were erratic but completely unpredictable. All it took from him was one slip up and he was on his back with his body being beaten in by two monsters of fury. But they didn't realize they were trapped in a genjutsu until it was too late. Sakura's breathless voice as she called out to them snapped their heads around just in time to watch Kuutatsu drive his hidden katana through her abdomen from behind.

Sasuke couldn't tell which one was louder, Naruto's inhuman roar or the frantic thumping of his heart. It was the last thing he remember before control was lost to him.

…

When conscious thoughts had slithered back into Sasuke's mind, he realized his body was completely immobile. Whether from exhaustion or restraints, he couldn't tell. His could feel the cold hardness of the ground against him so he was lying on his stomach. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sakura's limp body lying just a few feet away from him and Kuutatsu's mangled body lying in the corner of his peripheral vision. Then it came.

A roar so vicious, he didn't recognize it as Naruto's until he forced his head to turn in the other direction to see him being seized by the neck by a member of the Akatsuki. A man with strange blue skin and a jagged toothed grin. Naruto struggled relentlessly, his eyes dyed red and his chakra flailing violently around him and yet the man seemed unfazed.

"Who would've thought the Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi was a snotty brat" he chuckled.

Sasuke moved to help his teammate but an insurmountable amount of pain shot through his body, he writhed in pain and could but watch as the Akatsuki slammed Naruto into the ground to try and knock him out.

Sakura's bleeding out, Naruto's going to be taken by the Akatsuki and he's powerless to save both of them. Frustration has never hit him so hard before.

Please. Please, someone help us.

Sasuke's fingernails scrapped against the dirt as he fisted his fingers, squeezing his eyes shut and willing a miracle to happen. "Nii-san…" he croaked in desperation.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" a fireball, much larger than any Sasuke's been able to conjure shot through the trees and right at the Akatsuki member, prompting him to drop the unconscious Naruto into the crater and flee backwards.

"You are a fool for picking a fight in the Fire Country, Kisame" Itachi's smooth but menacing voice snapped Sasuke's eyes open. His heart thundered with hope as he saw several others step out from the trees.

"Sasuke, I'm going to have to move you" Kakashi's voice came from above him and he tried to move to see his sensei but a gentle hand on his shoulder stilled him. "It's alright, help has come" he assured him.

"Sakura" he breathed her name with desperation.

"Shizune's trying to stabilize her" he told him and in one swift move, Kakashi had carefully moved him onto a stretcher and on his back.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see some unknown jounin shinobi lifting Naruto onto the stretcher, the medic immediately placing a hand on his chest to heal his skin that had been singed off by the Kyuubi's chakra. In his peripheral vision, he could also see Itachi crossing blades with Kisame, their movements so swift and quick his tired eyes couldn't keep up. Instead choosing to close his eyes and listen to their movements. When he did, he found himself drawn closer and closer to a numb darkness.

"Sasuke!" the desperate plea of his name called out in his brother's voice snapped him out the abyss. He blinked his eyes groggily and squinted his eyes to will the blur away.

"Nii…san?" he rasped.

"Stay with me, Sasuke. You have to stay awake, okay?" strange, he had never seen his brother so panicked before.

He nodded with a very slight movement. "I-Is Sakura…" Sasuke paused to swallow "is she…" he trailed off, the fatigue catching up to him.

"They've started to move her back to the hospital. We need to do the same for you." As the words left Itachi's mouth, Sasuke felt himself being lifted from the ground. "I know you're exhausted but you have to fight it, Sasuke. We'll get you back soon." Itachi's usual stoic tone was lost and all Sasuke could see were his brother's frantic eyes and desperate voice as he felt himself slip from the world with Itachi's voice lingering in his head.

Sasuke? Sasuke! Come on little brother, I can't lose you too…

…

A week after Team Kakashi had been admitted into the hospital, Sasuke finally stirred. His eye twitched as his ears are met with the obnoxious sound of someone slurring their food. Groaning, he lifted his hand to rub his face only to wince at the discomfort at his wrist. Blinking, he looked down at his hand to see it wrapped in bandages and a pipe connected to it. Curiously, his eyes traced it back to the bag of clear fluid hanging just above his bedside.

He shuffled a little, feeling like he had been lying down for much too long and eager to test his limps. Sasuke pushed himself to sit up then a voice sounded from beside him.

"It took you long enough!"

Naruto.

It was then Sasuke realized that they were in a hospital and their team's wipeout suddenly came back to him. Sakura being impaled, Naruto's beast form and the Akatsuki. "Sakura" his voice was hoarse and his throat was scratchy from the lack of fluids.

"Tsunade-baa-chan said she's in another room, she hasn't woken up" Naruto said around a mouthful of rice.

Which meant she was alive. Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Sasuke" a new voice entered, Sasuke barely had time to look up before his brother was suddenly in front of him, looking ragged and sleepless. "Oh thank god you've woken up. Do you need anything? Are you hungry? Want some water?" Itachi asked, his tone oozing concern. He had never seen his brother like this before and couldn't help but snort.

Itachi blinked, noticing the small, amused smile on his brother's face before clearing his throat and wiping his face of emotion, sitting down by Sasuke's bed with a sigh. "If you have the energy to laugh at me then I guess you're really fine after all" he grumbled.

"Water" Sasuke said. Itachi looked up and paused for a moment as if confused before scrambling to his feet and pouring Sasuke a glass of water. After a few mouthful's Sasuke handed the glass back for Itachi to place it at his bedside table.

"How did you find us?" Sasuke began.

"When Tsunade-sama received the letter from Sato Kuutatsu and the seal from the Tsuchikage, she sent out a team to investigate. It turns out, the Tsuchikage never approved of such a demand. His seal had been stolen five days prior to Sato's appearance in our village. Sato was branded a nuke-nin just that morning when he refused to discontinue his brutal training camps that trains children to be assassins." Itachi explained.

"So Sakura, she…" Sasuke looked up to meet his brother's eyes.

"She stays" Itachi nodded.

Suddenly, Itachi was reminded of the bright eyed Sasuke before their parents died.

"I asked Tsunade-baa-chan to let me see Sakura-chan but the stingy old hag won't tell me her room number" Naruto huffed, rice sticking to the corner of his mouth as he crossed his arms.

"Who are you calling a hag?" Tsunade's voice boomed from the entrance and Naruto stiffened. "Watch it, Uzumaki, or I'll re-break that arm of yours" the blonde hokage threatened with a gaze that promised a world of pain.

Naruto frowned deeply and caressed his arm.

"Now that you two are awake. There's something we need to discuss." Tsunade stepped away from the door to reveal a very serious looking Jiraiya.

"Ero-sennin?"

…

"You want us to leave Konoha?" Naruto gawked.

"Just for a few years, 2 years at most" Jiraiya confirmed.

"What about Sakura-chan?" Naruto countered.

"She will remain here under my tutelage" Tsunade spoke. "Currently, Konoha is no longer safe for the both of you. There will be people who are after your life, your gifts and the tailed-beasts that lies within you. By leaving Konoha and training under some of the best shinobi this village has ever created, not only are you safe, but you are also learning and gaining experience."

Naruto looked down at his hands and Sasuke looked outside. Both pondering on their answer. Do they want to leave Sakura behind? She would be heartbroken.

A soft breeze drifted in from the open windows. But they're not leaving her. They're going to come back to her and they're going to be strong enough to protect her. They have to.

"We'll give you guys time to think this through-" Tsunade stood from her chair but Sasuke's voice cut through the tension.

"I'll go" he said.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, teme" Naruto grinned and they gave each other a knowing look.

Tsunade smirked "Then it's settled, you will leave as soon as you've healed."

How are they going to tell Sakura?

…

She didn't take it well, that was what Sasuke had thought when he and Naruto stood at her bedside. They had waited a few days after she had woken up to tell her but that still didn't make it any easier for them to break the news. They couldn't tell if she was upset at them or sad because she's going to be lonely. For the rest of the day, she gave them one worded answers and refused to look at either of them.

"We'll come back, Sakura-chan" Naruto said quietly, that was the quietest Sasuke has ever heard Naruto.

"I know" Sakura answered, her head still turned away from them, looking longingly outside the window. "But it's still going to be lonely around here" she whispered.

A sudden poof resounded in the middle of the room, summoning a momentary smokescreen before it cleared to reveal Kakashi standing lazily in the middle of it. "Come now, they're not the only ones in Team Kakashi" Kakashi feigned offence. Sakura finally looked away from the window to smile at their mentor's arrival.

"Kakashi-sensei" she acknowledged then turned to look at the boys for the first time since they had announced their plan "When are you guys leaving?" she asked.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other guiltily. "Tomorrow" they answered at the same time.

However, instead of being shocked like they thought she would, she simply nodded. "I'll see you guys off tomorrow" she promised with a smile.

"Don't push yourself, Sakura-chan. It's not like you'll never see us again" Naruto joked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Just focus on getting better" Sasuke said, trying to sound aloof but failing ever so miserably.

Sakura simply smiled.

…

"Man, I can't believe we won't be seeing this village for 2 years" Naruto walked with his hands over his head. Walking casually alongside Sasuke. Sasuke mentally ran through his checklist things he packed, making sure he didn't leave anything out. Jiraiya and Itachi were waiting for them at the gates of Konoha and so was-

"Sakura" Sasuke said absently.

She was still dressed in her hospital gowns, she must've snuck out from the hospital to see them off even though they told her not to. Naruto, on the other hand, was thrilled to see her. Lifting his hand to wave frantically at her. "Saaaakura-chaan" he called out, grinning from ear to ear.

She smiled and waved back.

As they came face to face with each other, the three of them suddenly seemed like strangers who didn't know how to start a conversation. "I know you guys didn't want me straining myself out of bed, but I'm okay now. Really." She assured them, looking down at the ground at her feet. "I just wanted to see you guys one last time before you boys disappear for two whole years" she said sheepishly.

Reaching out her hand, she took both of their hands in hers. For the first time that day, she looked up to meet their eyes. Her emerald orbs shimmering with unshed tears "Just promise me" her voice a whisper "Promise you will come back" she squeezed their hands weakly before pulling them both into a hug.

Naruto blushed and Sasuke felt his face heat up. "Aww, we would never leave you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto was first to break the silence. Rubbing his hands over her back and giving her a pat to sooth her. Unconsciously, Sasuke wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I won't say goodbye" Sakura sniffled, a dead-giveaway of her beginning to cry. "Because it's not our ending, right?" she swallowed a sob. Naruto nodded against her shoulder, smiling brightly. "Team Kakashi is just getting started"

Welp, that's that. The sequel is called "A New Adventure with an Old team" It hasn't been revised yet so the first few chapters consist of my horrible writing skills. It's unbearable really. If I can find the time, I will revise the chapters. Also there is going to be a sequel to the sequel that's coming out after I complete the the sequel. Let me know what you think, folks!