Title: Whispers On the Wind
Written By: Dark Paine
Beta: CripticWolf
Summary: The thought of Team Seven reuniting was something Sakura would never have believed to be possible. But when Sasuke returns after defeating Itachi, everything changes.

Whispers On the Wind

The thought of becoming Team Seven once again was only a whisper on the wind.

"Push just a little more," urged the medic.

The woman lying on the bed, knees bent, threw her head back. "I don't know if I can! It hurts so badly!" she let out a gasp before her breathing came in short puffs.

The man next to the woman, her husband, squeezed her hand. "It's alright, just take small breaths and push just a little more." He then started to imitate the breathing pattern the doctors had showed them at the beginning of this two-hour labor session. He seemed to be sweating next to his wife, sometimes flinching by how hard she clenched his hand with her own.

The woman let out an ear-piercing scream, squeezing her eyes shut as she pushed.

"Here she comes," said the medic happily, reaching to grab the baby's head as it slowly came out.

With one final push from the mother, the baby was delivered with a small cry. The medic placed the baby on the mothers stomach, "Congratulations, you are now the parents of a little girl!"

The mother wept slightly with happiness while her husband cut the umbilical cord where the medic showed him. It was a beautiful sight and the medic felt tears prick at her eyes as she smiled behind her mask.

She stepped back while her assistants cleaned the baby and took care of the mother and left the room.

Stepping out, the medic threw out her gloves and untied her mask so she could breathe with more ease. She didn't realize just how hot it had been in that room until now that she was out in the hallway of the hospital building.

"Sakura."

The pink haired kunoichi wiped the small tear from her eye and turned to look at her teacher, Tsunade. She hadn't aged a bit, unsurprisingly.

"Yes, Tsunade-senpai?"

"You can go home now, it's late and you've got a mission tomorrow," said the older woman.

Sakura gave her a tired smile before she glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning and she had been at the hospital all day. It had been a long day.

"Alright Tsunade-senpai, I'll see you tomorrow."

Tsunade nodded her head and watched as Sakura walked down the hall to her office and retrieved her things. She noticed how relaxed her apprentice was despite her obvious fatigue. It was easier these days to not worry so much about Sakura.

In the beginning, after Sasuke had left, she had to watch Sakura like a hawk, which wasn't so much of a problem since she would train Sakura every day. It would usually keep Sakura's mind off of the missing nin, but when Sakura would go home, she would just begin to worry again.

It was like that for a year before the inevitable return of the onyx eyed nin. With the defeat of the Akatsuki and more importantly the older Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke had completed his long time mission and was returned bloodied and battered, having almost lost his life in the battle, to Konoha.

His recovery took many months and for a while Tsunade as well as the team of medics that worked on Sasuke wondered if he would ever fully recover. The time and effort they put into trying to save him was extensive when he first arrived. Many of the deep wounds he had sustained required hours of work to fix and stop the bleeding, both external and internal. Sakura in particular, made sure to be in the process in the very beginning until she knew that the others could handle the rest.

It had been hard for her student to watch her former teammate suffer so much and have so many injuries. Even though Sasuke had turned his back on Konoha for a while and caused the other members of Team Seven so much pain, both Naruto and Sakura still considered their team as family. And to see one of its members not only go through mental pain but physical as well, was hard for Sakura to watch.

And so when Sakura was dismissed from Sasuke's case and instead of turning to work at the hospital in overdrive she began taking missions left and right even after becoming ANBU. Tsunade realized that Sakura needed this so she did not stop her.

Tsunade knew, as did everyone else who was a friend of Sakura's that the kunoichi was only doing it to block the pain and suffering from Sasuke's departure when they were younger as well as his sudden return.

During the time where Sakura took consecutive missions as well as working at the hospital (which kept her from seeing her former teammate since being dismissed from his recovery), Sasuke had been closely watched and monitored for the first two months after reaching full recovery. He had spent many weeks getting back his motor skills, finding that it had been hard to walk at first and his left hand was very stiff compared to how it used it be, making it difficult to open and close. However, even through all difficulty he had succeeded until he had reached a full recovery.

He was an Uchiha after all. A clan that specialized in power and technique that would never let any member remain weak forever. His bloodline had a relentless thirst for perfection and dominance.

Being weak was out of the question for him.

Sighing, Tsunade crossed her arms under her large breasts and looked out the window of the Hokage Tower, viewing all of Konoha. Below she could see ninja as well as civilians walking and enjoying their day out together. It was a nice sight to see but Tsunade could not bring herself to smile, her thoughts turned to a much more serious issue concerning a certain Uchiha.

When the last remaining Uchiha left the hospital after two months, he was ordered to remain home in the Uchiha compound until further notice. He could not go on missions or even leave Konoha for any matter. Tsunade had made sure of it and had some of the members of ANBU take turns watching and making sure he followed her guidelines. After another two months of good behavior, she had allowed him to go to the training grounds, but never to train with another ninja.

The onyx eyed male listened and obeyed every rule Tsunade had set down for him. He never complained when he was told to stop training for the day and ordered back to his family compound, never talked back to any officer that watched him.

In fact, he rarely spoke at all.

Instead he would listen almost intently as to never miss what was said as he fixed an intense gaze upon the person of higher authority that told him what he could or could not do for that day. He was always silent and only rarely gave an affirmation in understanding. The boy was a mystery and it still surprised Tsunade that he did not put up a fight or try to kill any member of Konoha like he had tried to while away from his village.

The battles and struggles that he put his former teammates, teachers and comrades through were inexcusable. The pain they experienced was something that not everyone could forgive Sasuke for and so as punishment for not only betraying his comrades but also his village, Tsunade had punished him and put him on lock down. During this time discussions of his future remained with Tsunade and the nobles on whether he would be allowed to return completely or if he were to be executed for his treachery.

When Sasuke's former blonde haired teammate had heard of the discussions, he stormed into the Hokage's office demanding that Sasuke were to be given a second chance and pleaded for her to not let the raven-haired teen die. He went on to say that Sasuke had been brain washed by Orochimaru and that Sasuke was really a kind person and still his best friend. Naruto had been very vehement that there must be another way for Sasuke to be punished other than execution and urged her to convince the elders as so or else he would see them himself.

Knowing Naruto's passion for protecting those who meant the most to him, Tsunade had successfully negotiated with the elders to put Sasuke out of commission for a year to see how he would do starting from the bottom and working his way up. He would need to work hard to not only be a ninja again but to gain the respect of the Hokage as well as the elders. During this time in consideration were his attitude and cooperation as well as his overall behavior to all of her rules and that of the rules the elders had put into place.

And so now a year had passed since the return of Sasuke who had betrayed Konoha and had killed his older brother Itachi. It was time now to decide what Tsundae should do with the Uchiha and how she should proceed.

Turning from the window, Tsunade returned to sit at her desk and looked upon the scroll that now lay flat out on her desk and sighed. With the mysterious recent death of an Elder of Konoha, she had begun to feel drained as she tried so desperately not to let the information be leaked to outside villages. Only a select few knew of the malicious act against Konoha and she wanted it to remain that way.

As Sakura walked out of the hospital, she was met with the dark streets lit dimly by the fading lamps. There was a small amount of snow on the ground; it must have fallen while she was at work since there was none when she had come in. She felt a slight chill and wrapped her coat more tightly around her form.

Sakura herself loved the snow when she was younger and still did to this day. It had never got old until the snow started to mix with dirt and looked ugly and until that happened she would occupy herself by making snow men and having snow ball fights with her friends, especially her childhood friend Ino. Now that it was the end of winter, spring would reach Konoha in a few weeks time and Sakura was definitely looking forward to the warmer weather. The snow on the ground probably marked the last of the year.

She let her mind rest for a while, just letting herself find her way home robotically. She didn't even need to pay attention to what streets she took to get home these days, she just seemed to end up there one way or another.

But, on almost every day, she would glance up at a very familiar building like she did now.

The Uchiha compound.

Before, she would have to run past crying or avoid it altogether. On rare occasions she would sit outside and look at it, devoid of emotion and just stared.

That was when it was empty.

But since the return of her former teammate and knowing now there was an occupant inside, she would let herself pass by once after a long time of avoiding it, just to see if the single light would be on. It was the only source of a confirmation that Sasuke was inside, and not needing to see anymore, Sakura would continue on her way home.

When Sasuke, her childhood crush, had first left, a retrieval team had been assembled in hopes of returning the raven haired boy back to Konoha who had wished to defect in order to find Orochimaru. She herself had tried to stop him from leaving in the beginning but to no avail. The next day she had alerted officials who then told Tsunade what had happened. Immediately the team which included Naruto was put together.

Before their departure, Sakura had asked Naruto to bring back Sasuke, believing that only her blonde haired teammate could convince the Uchiha to return. Giving her his trademark smile and thumbs up, Naruto had gladly accepted while making it his lifetime promise to her.

The next time that Sakura saw Naruto however, was without their former teammate and in critical condition as a result of the battle that had ensued between Sasuke and the jinchūriki. Seeing him in bandages had broken her heart and she had stayed by his side as he recovered. When he had finally awakened he had apologized to her for not returning with Sasuke and it was at that moment that Sakura realized just how useless she had been during that time.

There was no doubt to herself or anyone else for that matter that she had been the weakest link on their team. She had always been protected by her teacher and her teammates. Everyone had done everything for her and as the tears fell from her eyes as she looked at Naruto who was covered in bandages, she vowed to never be useless ever again and that the next time they would get Sasuke, they would do it together.

And then things had changed yet again.

Naruto had gone off to train with Jiraiya to become more powerful and harness the strength of the kyuubi while Sakura had asked to be taken under the wings of Tsunade to be trained as a powerful medic nin, which her blonde haired teacher had gladly accepted.

Naruto and Sakura did not see each other for another three years.

During that time, Sakura had trained vigorously with Tsunade in order to become more powerful and more useful. She never again wanted to be the helpless twelve year old girl who had been a part of team seven, their weakest link. She no longer wanted to be a burden on her teammates, but instead she wanted to use all that she had in order to help them and protect those she cared for.

Overtime she had become a very notable and skilled medic that many sought out to be cured or healed by. When Naruto had returned to Konoha with newfound techniques and strength, even he was surprised at how much Sakura had changed and how cool she looked.

But the almost strange thing was that even Sakura thought Naruto looked cool. His appearance had changed and it seemed as if he had matured greatly. He no longer was the rambunctious child who pulled pranks on others nonstop. No, when he returned Naruto was taller, more muscular; more powerful and he even seemed to have a sense of calm about him.

Not long after they were reunited, both had agreed to go on yet another mission to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Together with their new member Sai and new leader Yamato, they began to track down their former teammate.

This was no minor feet. Naruto faced a battle with Orochimaru that with the help from the kyuubi, he was able to defend against Orochimaru until he disappeared. Not only this, but their new teammate Sai had been an ally of the snake nin and had even betrayed their team. When their remaining team had reached Orochimaru's lair, they were able to find Sai and captured him for treachery.

Sakura had always known that there was something a little off about Sai. He was rather emotionless and gave off a weird vibe whenever she looked at him. No matter how hard she tried to accept him as a teammate, she couldn't. He could never give her a reason to and it was too strange to even think about it. No one could replace Sasuke's position on team seven and both she and Naruto considered his place on their team only temporary.

What did surprise Sakura however, was Sai's sudden interest in the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. When the emotionless nin had learned why Naruto was so adamant about bringing Sasuke back to Konoha, it amazed Sakura when he had decided to actually help them. What they had once thought his secret mission to bury Sasuke had turned to Sai changing his mind instead to help protect the bond that Naruto and Sasuke shared.

This came to be realized when their team finally came in contact with Sasuke. After three long years of training, both Sakura and Naruto were able to lay their eyes upon their teammate who had disappeared from Konoha.

Like Naruto, Sasuke had also become taller and more muscular but he still sported the same short black spiked hair. He clothes had also changed, instead of his blue shirt and white shorts, he now wore a white long sleeved shirt that opened in the front to reveal a toned chest, black pants with a blue clothe that started mid-stomach and went down to his knees and a purple belt that tied in a bow much like the one Orochimaru wore around his waist.

They had both waited for this day to come for a very long time and it was their chance to yet again try and return to Konoha with their teammate.

A battle quickly ensued and all members were swiftly shown that Sasuke too had endured rigorous training during these three years and had become considerably stronger. It seemed almost effortless for him to injure both Naruto and Sai. It was then that Sakura, who had not been hit by Sasuke's chidori, channeled her chakra into her fist and ran towards the sharingan user. She had vowed that she would not be useless this time and she planned to act on it. Her childhood feelings for Sasuke and her seemingly undying need to please him had disappeared when she had vowed to Naruto that together they would bring their teammate home.

The way he looked at her as she approached him was almost chilling enough to stop her in her tracks. His eyes that once held some sort of emotion, now looked on at her as if she were a mere flea in his way. She watched him grasp his sword and raise it, chakra all the while being channeled though the steel, but she did not stop.

She promised herself as well as Naruto that this time, they would bring him home.

It did not matter to her that he stared with the intent to kill as she ran towards him and got ready to shove her chakra filled fist into his face. She wanted to help, she had to help.

The sudden appearance of her temporary team leader however, stopped her. She watched, horrified as Yamato placed himself in front of her just as Sasuke's blade came down to pierce him in the chest, the chidori that was being channeled through it, electrified her leader. He was only able to push it out of his chest after using his wood release. At which point he even tried to encase Sasuke in his wood locking wall but the sharingan wielder escaped just as quickly as the wall was formed around him demonstrating yet again how strong he was.

So strong that they had failed once again.

Sakura could only watch on helplessly as Sasuke was joined by Kabuto and Orochimaru before he could deal out a blow so powerful, it would have killed everyone that resided in the large crater below him. He was only stopped by Orochimaru and the explanation of why Sasuke should let them live in order to destroy the Akatsuki members from Kabuto. At that, Sasuke pondered for a moment before letting his hand fall to his side and disappeared with Orochimaru and Kabuto, their bodies vanishing in flames.

It was at that point that Sakura started to experience resentment and anger towards the Uchiha. She resented him for engaging in battle and insisting that there were no bonds between them, that he had severed them all when he left Konoha. She was angry that he continued to resist their efforts, seemingly ignorant to their sincere feelings and had almost killed the people that cherished him the most. Most importantly, she resented the person that Sasuke was becoming. What they had worked so hard for in the beginning when they first been put together was now gone. They were not a team who looked out for one another; instead Sasuke was trying to turn them into enemies going so far as to say that either Naruto or he would die in their final battle.

Defeated, they had returned once again to Konoha empty handed and the strenuous training once again commenced with the help of Kakashi. They took mission after mission and Sakura forced herself to progress in ability, sometimes even joining other teams on missions and she found herself soon allowed to participate in ANBU operations along the side of Neji. S-rank and A-rank missions as well as working in the hospital took up most of her time then and even now.

As time went on and while Naruto trained with both Jiraiya and Kakashi, she had heard bits of news about the whereabouts of the missing Uchiha. When news broke of the defeat of Orochimaru by the raven-haired teen, Sakura had been healing a patient at the hospital. Shizune had told her what had happened and that the Hokage was already aware. Sasuke had apparently turned on his teacher who had become weaker than him just before Orochimaru could take over his body.

Many more months, missions and medical duties passed before Sakura had heard about Sasuke again. When she did hear about him, it was something surprising. The man that Sasuke had vowed to get revenge upon since he was a child was now dead by his hands after a long and overwhelming battle of their sharingan which left behind tremendous destruction. By the time leaf shinobi had arrived at the scene, Itachi's body had been burned beyond recognition and Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

That was until his body showed up at the gates of the Hidden Leaf village on the arm of Naruto out of the blue a couple of months after the battle. He was covered in deep wounds and burn marks when Sakura saw him for the first time in months being rushed in on a medical bed by fellow medics. Almost without hesitation and forgetting her bitterness towards her former teammate, she too had joined the team to save the Uchiha and stayed until he was no longer in critical condition, when she knew that the others could handle it.

It would be the only time she had willingly looked upon his face before taking a month long ANBU mission with Neji. Her bitterness for Sasuke returned when she left that medical room. Why was it that it took for him to be so badly wounded in order to return to Konoha? If he had just returned with them all those months ago he would not have almost lost his life and be lying in a medical bed right then as she had walked down the hall to tend to another patient.

Going on an extensive and dangerous mission with Neji was exactly what she needed to keep her mind off of the newly returned ninja. Her faithful ANBU companion always worked well with her and commanded her full attention. He would never allow any sort of slip up to occur during their missions, her mind could not afford to be somewhere else. In the end it was a difficult mission but went off without a hitch.

And so after returning back to Konoha a month after leaving just subsequent to when Sasuke had been brought in on a bed, Sakura made sure to avoid the hospital and instead went straight to the Hokage's office to request another mission as soon as possible. Her request was granted and she was sent off yet again on a mission that lasted two months. It was only upon her return that she had learned of the Uchiha being released from the hospital a month after she had left, and that now was confined to his family compound.

It seemed as though at the time that a slight weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and now she found that she had no reason to avoid the hospital any longer. After taking two days rest from the mission, she made her way to the hospital and continued to work nonstop almost every day of the week unless Tsunade has specifically requested that she go on another ANBU mission or to take at least one extra day off. She had done this for a year, spent the majority of her time either on special or regular missions or at the hospital and only spending a few days out of the month at her own apartment.

Besides his release from the hospital, Sakura knew nothing else of Sasuke's condition. She never asked about him and no one freely told her just what was happening with her former teammate. It seemed as if all of her colleagues who usually liked to gossip, deliberately avoided the subject. It must have been because of the influence her teacher had over them. She could be very scary after all.

Now standing in front of her apartment door, she sighed. Tomorrow she was to go on a mission with Neji that would last a few days. To do what, she did not know yet.

Her hand reached out to grab the doorknob but stopped.

Today she had helped to give birth to a human being.

Tomorrow she might have to take the life of one.

The last mission Sakura had been on lasted two and a half weeks. She fought against her enemies every day without pause. Her ANBU squad had to assassinate four different groups of rogue ninjas that were wrecking havoc on villages and posed a threat to the Leaf Village. It had taken some time to find them but once they were found, they had no chance of escape.

When she had finally returned back home, she had only minor injuries that consisted of a few cuts and scrapes but nothing serious. After the quick medical evaluation in the hospital that she was required to go under even though she herself was an experienced medic, she had left the hospital. On her way back to her apartment she had been caught by Naruto who then insisted that he take her out to the Ichiraku as a celebration for her successful mission.

She could not deny her friend who insisted on treating her even though she was tired. So, side by side they had walked to Naruto's all time favorite dining place. She couldn't help but notice how much Naruto had changed again as they walked down the dirt road. In between her missions she rarely saw her blonde haired friend. It was ignorant to think that during the time Sakura kept herself occupied that Naruto would sit home and do nothing. No, instead he too had begun training even harder than ever before and took missions with other teams to advance his abilities. Like herself, he too was a part of the Hidden Leaf's ANBU and even though it was normal for teams to be sent out, Naruto would sometimes opt to go out alone on missions. Sakura could only count on one hand how many times she and Naruto had been put on the same ANBU squad and that had only been in the beginning. Now however, Tsunade liked to mix and match people in order to find complete balance depending on the missions and their individual difficulty.

They would talk about what was going on in their lives, what kind of missions they had taken and even debated on the type of mission would be their next. As they ate, she would steal glances at him and notice how much more defined his features seemed to be since the last time she saw him as he happily chatted with her. He was always careful not to mention Sasuke anymore in their talks even if he had seen the Uchiha or not. Naruto had come to learn after a short time that Sakura no longer had the interest to know such things and so he made sure to never mention it again. As a result, their conversations remained more positive and enjoyable for both of them.

What never changed about him was the way he would greet her with a smile though. The way he looked at her with kindness and warmth that seemed to never waver even if she returned after killing multiple people only a few days or even possibly a few hours before their eyes met. Sometimes Sakura felt that no matter how many lives stained her hands he would always greet her in such a way without judgment.

Now, as she stood in the Hokage's office dressed head to toe in traditional ANBU gear with Neji beside her, she smiled under her mask as they waited for their Hokage to give them the details to their mission.

Maybe after this was completed she would treat Naruto to some ramen? He had surprisingly paid up the last time and it was only fair that she return the favor. She could see him now, stuffing his face with ramen and going on about his love for the simple dish.

When the door to the Hokage's office swung open both Sakura and Neji straightened their stance and waited as the leader of their village stood behind her desk and pulled a scroll from beneath her robes and threw it to Sakura who caught it.

Thinking it was their mission scroll she began to open it but Tsunade's voice stopped her.

"You are forbidden to open that scroll." The words were quick and sharp, a direct order.

Quickly rolling the scroll tightly, Sakura placed it in the pouch that sat on her lower back, "Yes Hokage."

Neji shifted his weight from beside the pink haired kunoichi. "Since you are not giving us a mission scroll, I presume we are delivering it to someone specific," came his smooth deduction.

Tsunade nodded her head. "You are correct Hyuuga. No one must lay eyes on this scroll other than the Godaime Kazekage himself. This is highly classified information that I need you to give him and only him. You must be seen neither entering, nor leaving Sunagakure either."

Both ANBU members nodded their heads in affirmation.

Getting to the Land of Wind was no problem to Sakura and Neji whatsoever. Their speed allowed them to arrive only three days after their departure from Konoha and they had been able to remain completely unseen to the villages and their unknowing ninja.

It was always an asset to have a Hyuuga on a team. Their Byakugan was able to see incoming threats or inconveniences further up ahead of them and Neji's ability to do so was the major reason their timing had been so good.

When both Neji and Sakura stood in front of the Kazekage, they watched as he read over the scroll Sakura had handed over. It was hard to guess what Tsunade had written since there was no expression that crossed Gaara's face as he read it over thoroughly.

Silence filled the air in the room that the two members of ANBU and the leader of the village resided in. Before their arrival, Gaara had made sure that no one was to step foot in his office. He had received word from Leaf that the official scroll was on its way and he knew how crucial it was that their talks were kept in complete secrecy for now. So as a precaution only he himself was allowed to enter and leave his office, anyone else was forbidden to do so.

Sakura had noticed upon arrival the seemingly less guarded tower but she knew better. This Kazekage was more than capable of defending himself against the many offenders and enemies.

Soon, the sound of brush strokes filled her ears and she turned her attention once again to see Gaara writing on a scroll to respond to the one Tsunade had written. It did not take long for him to scribble down whatever he wanted to say before reading it over again and rolling it up. When finished he stood and walked towards Sakura and Neji.

"This is to be given straight to your Hokage. No one is to view its contents." He spoke. His order was much the same as the one they had received from Tsunade and his words were spoken in almost the same manner however his seemed more deadly. Holding her hand open, Sakura watched as Gaara placed the new scroll in her hand before placing it safely in her back pouch. For some reason the weight of the scroll seemed to be heavier than usual. A seemingly deep feeling of foreboding and importance came over Sakura as she thought about just how important this scroll might be. It seemed as if something dangerous and significant was brewing between these two nations.

He then turned to look at Neji, "I will make sure that it will be easier for the both of you to leave the village. You are dismissed now."

With a jerk of their heads they quickly left the presence of the Kazekage and began their journey back to Konoha. Like Gaara had said, it was easier to leave than it was to arrive. He must have summoned all of the ninja to different posts or could have possibly called a meeting in order to give them free reign in their departure. Nevertheless it took them a day in a half before they were completely out and ended up stopping for a rest a few miles from the outskirts of the Land of Fire. They would reach Konoha in another day and a half after resting for awhile.

So, as they both sat hidden in the trees, Sakura let her back rest against the trunk as she balanced her weight on the branch she rested on. Closing her eyes behind her mask, she let her head fall back to rest against the tree. The importance of the scroll that she carried did not leave her ever since they had left. The sense of responsibility only grew and she wondered just what the contents of the scroll held.

Opening her eyes, she spotted her teammate on a different branch a few feet in front of her and further up. She knew he could hear her though when she began to speak to him.

"Neji?" she called to him and watched as his masked face turned towards her.

Even with the distance and the mask on his face Sakura could still make out his silver eyes that seemed to always penetrate her soul. In the begging it took her a while to get used to seeing his eyes so often when the first began to take missions together but after time she did not get the chills whenever his eyes landed on her. No, they had spent way too many missions together and he had saved her too many times for her to still feel nervous or unaccustomed.

They had become quite the team together, relying on each other for their own special techniques that benefitted both of them.

"What is it Sakura? Do you sense something?" he asked, voice slightly muffled from behind the mask.

Leaning forward the pink haired kunoichi let her legs dangle on either side of the branch before shaking her head. "It's just that something has been bugging me ever since we left the village hidden in the sand." She paused a moment and looked to her right before returning her gaze back to her partner. "Do you think….that there will be a war? This mission that we were given had two leaders of a village that wanted no one to know of this scroll other than themselves…and I just can't get the ominous feeling out of my system. It's almost like something big is about to happen."

She watched to see him contemplate her words on the branch where he resided. Being a member of the Hyuuga clan had taught him many years of discipline and to consider his words and actions truthfully and in all seriousness. When he did speak, Sakura made sure to listen meticulously to his words.

"I would not presume to go that far just yet. However, war can start at any time if there is a large uprising or attack against another village. Although there are no signs of that yet, it can happen at any time. In this case on the other hand I believe our Hokage would try everything to prevent a war while still investigating the murder. We can only wait to see what happens."

Sakura leaned back against the tree once again and let his words sink in. yes, he was right. An unpredicted war could start at any time between any village if one had the need to try and take over. With this new secret and malicious attack against the elders of Konoha however, it put a bad taste in her mouth. She knew Tsunade was investigating the crime and it had not been ruled out that a leaf shinobi had done the deed but neither had a shinobi sent by another village.

A noise caught her attention, effectively bringing her out of her thoughts as both she and Neji stood up with kunai in hand.

"Wait! Don't attack me!" yelled a rough voice from below that Sakura recognized. Putting her kunai away, she dropped down to the ground followed silently by her teammate.

Kneeling down in front of the furry animal that had found them, she looked him straight in the eyes. "Pakkun, what are you doing here?"

The small brown pug gestured to his back with his head. "Tsunade sent me on an emergency mission to find you and give you this scroll."

Spotting the scroll, Sakura hurriedly removed it from the canines back and opened it.

ANBU Squad 1:

Squad 3 is in need of a medic.

Amegakure.

"That is the Squad that Shino is on," voiced Neji's from behind Sakura's shoulder just as she destroyed the scroll.

She turned to look at the taller man. "Do you know who else is on his team?"

He shook his head.

Sakura's gaze turned down to the pug once again. "Tell Tsunade that we are on our way to assist them now."

They were lucky to have been caught by Pakkun while in the area between the Lands of Wind and Fire. They were closer to Amegakure from where they were compared to if they had returned all the way to Konoha and received this order. They would be able to reach Shino quickly this way.

"Lady Tsunade said they should be just on the outskirts of a village located a couple of miles from the border."

In one swift motion their small meeting dispersed. Sakura and Neji headed to the Village Hidden in Rain while Pakkun went back to report to the Hokage.

It wasn't often that Sakura would receive an order like this. Something must have certainly gone wrong with the ANBU team that they were going to aid. Had the other squad been ambushed? Or had they engaged in a battle overestimating their opponent?

If Neji was right and Shino was on that squad, then something horrible must have happened. The ninja famous for his bug techniques was one of the more dangerous and skilled of the ninja from leaf. He was still a mystery from the day Sakura met him until even today but she knew how he was able to execute missions meticulously by pushing himself a few steps ahead of his opponent.

For Shino to be injured on such a mission it wouldn't be much of a stretch in thinking this enemy to be quite skillful, to say the least.

Sakura could only hope that Shino was still alive by the time they reached him.

The land, in which the Village Hidden in Rain was located, was in an unnamed country. Although receiving its name from the constant rainy climate, not much was known about the village for the sheer fact that it was heavily guarded. Shinobi or civilians alike that were eventually allowed to enter such a village were only able to do so after going through extensive security checks. After gaining access, visitors were then held under constant surveillance whether or not they knew it. It seemed though that the border of the country was not as heavily guarded as the village itself, which proved to be a quite the benefit for both Sakura and Neji who quickly slipped past unsuspecting villagers and into the forest.

On the border of the country, there were many smaller villages that were considerably less guarded than the main village. There was no doubt in Sakura's mind however that they were all connected and still housed shinobi for protection, however on the other hand Sakura knew that it would not be as strict or heavy as in the Village Hidden in Rain.

As the raindrops poured down from the skies above them, Sakura and Neji made their way through the trees in search of their comrades that were in need of help. Her hair now clung to her neck and mask as well as the soaked traditional ANBU outfit to her body. If she had not been so skillful in her attention to keep the chakra flow to her feet as well, she would have fallen off the slippery tree branches long ago. Everything in this country was soaked and one wrong move could easily spell disaster.

Sakura followed swiftly behind Neji as he used his byakugan to locate Shino and his squad. With the help of the strong gusts of wind, their movements were naturally covered and unnoticeable.

"Up ahead!" she heard her teammate yell over the strong winds back to her.

They stopped in the trees to survey the area, only a few feet away from their fallen comrade who was now visible to both Sakura and Neji. He was breathing heavily from what Sakura could see as he alone leaned against the trunk of a tree, blood dripping from both his arms and parts of his chest.

No team in sight.

"It's clear over here," Sakura announced to her teammate. She had begun to mentally and physically prepare herself for the amount of chakra she would need in order to quickly and sufficiently heal their fellow leaf nin. Although there were different villages nearby in either direction that they could go to, Sakura deemed it would be better to heal him here. She didn't want to take her chances going into a village and then being found out they were Leaf ANBU.

"Over here as well," answered Neji before dropping down to the ground, Sakura following suite. Without hesitation both of them approached Shino, Sakura knelt on the ground beside him and assessed his wounds.

"What happened to you Susumu? What about your squad?" asked Neji who stood before his cousin's former teammate from when they were younger. He did not address Shino by his true name; instead he as well as everyone a part of the leaf ANBU were given different names to be called by in order to conceal their true identities.

Gathering chakra into her hands, Sakura began to push the flow into the open wounds that were on Shino's chest. It seemed as though someone had cut him with a very large and sharp sword. Thankfully it had not cut into any major organs from what Sakura had evaluated. She could feel his chest vibrate as he began to speak.

"We were ambushed, my teammate and I," he coughed before continuing. "He disappeared for a while and I was left to fight off three of the ninja that had landed upon us."

Sakura could feel the anger radiating off of Neji from beside her.

"Who is your teammate?" he asked heatedly while looking down. His rare eyes glanced over every cut that had been placed on the insect wielding ninja. They were not friends so to speak, but Neji was very adamant about the safety and protection of his fellow leaf shinobi. And from what Sakura had seemed to guess what his teammate had truly did in her mind, Neji was probably on the same track.

Keeping one hand over the cut on Shino's chest, Sakura moved her other to channel chakra into the wounds on his arm. They were healing much better and faster than she would have thought. It was a good thing that the shinobi that had ambushed him didn't use poison or else this would have been a totally different ordeal.

"Ryuu is my teammate…we were not assigned on a team with anyone else…it was just he and I…" spoke Shino slowly.

Both Sakura and Neji turned to look at each other. She had never heard of the alias 'Ryuu' since she became ANBU and she was almost positive that Neji had not either. Pushing more chakra into Shino's body, Sakura's eyes narrowed behind her mask.

So a newbie had gotten scared while on a mission and abandoned his teammate?

"Where the hell is your teammate?" growled the pink haired kunoichi behind gritted teeth. To think that someone from the leaf could have done this to their teammate made her livid, especially since it was a member of ANBU.

"He-"

The bug wielding shinobi was cut off when an almost inaudible sound was heard from behind Sakura. Almost instantly the warm body that once stood beside her disappeared and without slowing the flow of chakra to her hands, Sakura turned to look behind her at the intruder who now had Neji's sword against his neck.

"I'm right here," came the confident and unwavering voice from behind the traditional ANBU mask. It seemed as though he did not care that there was one of the most deadly and sharpest weapons against one of the most vulnerable parts of his body.

Sakura's eyes opened slightly in astonishment as a sense of apprehension seemed to grow in the pit of her stomach. The intruder was dressed in the same attire as she and Neji as well as Shino; the black shoes and pants, black skin tight shirt underneath the white armor. A small black tattoo in the shape of a swirl also adorned his right shoulder, signifying his membership of ANBU. From where she knelt she could not see his eyes, instead she could see his pale skin that was visible, not covered and the jet black hair that had a familiar spike to it. As she looked at him from head to toe, eyes wavering here or there on the small cuts and bruises, the feeling in the pit of her stomach seemed to grow larger.

Neji's hand on the sword tightened. "So now you decide to show yourself after abandoning your teammate? You bastard!"

Sakura watched intently as the raven haired man turned to look at Neji, a small cut from the sword appeared on his neck but he paid no heed to it. "Abandon?" he seemed to laugh. "I went to finish of the others, Daiki. Should I have let them get away instead?"

She heard her teammate growl from behind her as she turned her head back to Shino. His wounds had healed a great deal from when she first started, but she could not afford to use all of her chakra to heal him. Reaching back into the small pack, she grabbed bandages and began to wrap them around his wounds quickly but efficiently. Having many years of training and experience behind her, wrapping wounds was like clockwork.

"Thank you Ayaka," she heard Shino's bent over form whisper.

Slightly smiling behind her mask, Sakura could only give him a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "We are leaf shinobi, I will always help you. You will be alright Susumu."

After the bandages were secure, Sakura stood up and faced both of the shinobi that were still in the position she last saw them in.

"What do you think the Hokage would have said if I had just let them run off?" she heard the newcomer sneer and it emitted another growl of frustration out from her teammates' lips.

He was right; it would have been completely and utterly unacceptable if he had let the enemy shinobi escape. It would have brought shame to him as a member of ANBU for letting emotions get in the way for completely abandoning his mission to instead stay with his teammate, to choose his teammate over the mission.

However, there was still some level of respect and comradery that resided in the Leaf ANBU squads where they were expected to protect one another for the duration of the mission.

But it seemed, as Sakura assessed while she walked towards the one they called Ryuu who gave her the most uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, that by judging from how few wounds Ryuu had compared to Shino that he had ultimately abandoned his teammate. Instead of working together to destroy the enemy, it seemed as if Ryuu here thought he was so good and talented that he would take care of all of them while using Shino as a decoy, unbeknownst to himself.

The uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach seemed to dissipate as anger filled her as she balled her fist. Both men that had been previously engrossed in a war of words looked at the pink haired kunoichi as she approached before stopping right in front of Ryuu.

Up close he was a good half foot taller than her and she had to turn her head up slightly in order to talk directly to him. She could not see his eyes no matter how hard she looked into the holes in his mask. They seemed like dark depths that held no feeling whatsoever that never ended. Was there even a person behind that mask?

It was surprising to her that this shinobi belonged to Konoha; that such a person belonged to her precious village.

"Were you always this disrespectful to your teammates and superiors, Ryuu?" she said his name with such malice that even her teammates opal gaze turned towards her in surprise. "Have you always used your teammates as unknowing decoys?"

The light laugh that she heard from the man in front of her made her eyes widen as chakra began to flow into her fist. She watched as the masked face in front of her bent down only to slowly rise to look at her, finally allowing her to see his eyes.

His eyes that had bled into Sharingan.

Realization hit Sakura like a brick wall and for a moment her breath hitched as she could only hear the sound of her heart beating in her chest.

The man she had avoided for months, that had abandoned their village for years was standing right before her, only a few feet away. She would have never thought that he would ever wear the same garb as she. He had tried to kill many ninja from Konoha, including herself and Naruto…and now he was a member of Konoha's most elite and trusted organizations?

"I believe the Hokage had told me your name was Ayaka," her alias rolled off his tongue and she knew in an instant he had long recognized her by his tone. Damn her pink hair.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Sakura?"

Her eyes narrowed at the sound of her real name. Before she could think her fisted hand swung back before connecting powerfully with the mans face. Just hearing her name being spoken from this mans lips after so long brought back memories from their childhood and all the events leading up to this moment. Everything he had done was engraved in her mind and she had never forgotten anything.

All was silent as Sakura stood, arm extended with her fist connecting with Ryuu's face while Neji's sword still rested against the neck of the new shinobi.

Suddenly there was an audible crack as lines spread from the center of where Sakura's fist had connected. Pieces of the mask began to fall to the ground, revealing only one red eye.

In a split second the form in front of her disappeared into the wind in the form of crows.

"That was-" began Neji in slight amazement.

"Sasuke."

Hello everyone!

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading, I hope you enjoyed! I've updated the chapter because apparently things have changed on here that I didnt know about so please excuse the somewhat messy start. I'm excited to hear what you think ^^

Please review, it really does fire up my excitement to write :D

Until next time!