Chapter One: Cat and Mouse.


Sakura waited anxiously for her team mates, she'd been fetched by Shizune a short while ago and been told that the Hokage required to see her urgently.  Upon arrival she had been told she'd be given details of the mission shortly once the others arrived.  This news had shocked Sakura slightly, it was unusual for ordinary teams to be called urgently for a mission.  If there was an emergency it was the ANBU who were normally sent to deal with it.  Sakura rubbed her eyes sleepily, she'd had a ten hour shift at the hospital and could feel it taking a toll on her, her chakra depleted by the long days work.  

After slightly amending her blurred vision she glanced at the Godaime.  She looked tense and her face was frozen into a frown.  As her apprentice Sakura had a good idea of what the older woman had to deal with as the leader of Konoha and the stress it must be causing her.  The threat from Akatsuki was picking up and Tsunade had never been quite the same since the death of Jiraiya two years ago.  Her master's weariness was visible even through her henge, her beautiful face looked worn and tired.  She thought back to the first time she had seen Tsunade and her amazement at the unknown womans beauty.  Of course most kunoichis tended to be fairly attractive, harnessing their powers of seduction to give them an edge in the harsh shinobi world.  Tsunade however was truly breathtaking, not to mention incredibly powerful.  Revered as the most “beautiful and powerful of all women” and a pioneer in the shinobi world, after all, it was thanks to Tsunade that each squad now consisted of a medical nin.  It made Sakura glow with pride each time someone told her she would one day surpass her teacher, both in beauty and skill.  A thought that once would have been unfathomable.

She considered going to Tsunade for training was probably one of the very best decision she had ever made.  She had been weak for so long, concerned with trivial things such as trying to look pretty and earn Sasuke's love.  When her, Sasuke and Naruto had first become Team Seven her weakness hadn't bothered her at all.  In comparison to Naruto and his loud mouth and brash attitude she hadn't looked all that bad.  Naruto improved with such amazing speed, it seemed almost with a blink of the eye he had left her in the dust.  It had really sunk in during the second stage of the Chuunin exams in the Forest of Death, she had felt so... weak, helpless, completely and utterly useless.  She felt as if all she was doing was watching her team mates backs as they progressed more and more, leaving her behind.  

Despite this she hadn't taken action to make herself stronger for a while after those fateful days in the forest.  She had other things on her mind, mainly Sasuke.  He had been cursed by that vile excuse for a man Orochimaru and the effects it was having on the boy she loved were terrifying.  She could feel her heart in her throat every time the black marks leaked from the seal spreading across his body encompassing him in evil.  She knew that it clouded his mind, drawing on his darkest thoughts and it scared her.  

When Sasuke had finally left the village her heart had broken.  She had never experienced anything like the pain she'd felt then, she was sure he'd wrenched her heart from her chest and crushed it in the palm of his hand.  She'd begged and pleaded, but it had been to no avail.  He left only providing her with a “thank you” before leaving her unconscious on a bench.  Naruto had seen how broken Sakura was after Sasuke's abandonment and made the 'promise of a lifetime' to bring him back to her.  She shuddered slightly remembering the ashamed look on her poor friends face when he returned home without Sasuke.  Sasuke had almost killed him, he'd tried to hard whilst she'd stayed behind doing nothing.  As she looked at him, covered in bandages and barely able to move she had hit an all time low.  He felt ashamed for failing her, he had gone to such lengths to protect both his friends and she felt a burning self loathing.  For many things.  For treating Naruto so badly when he had never done anything but offer his friendship and constantly put his life on the line to protect her and simply make her happy. For the way she was so weak that she hadn't even been able to go on the mission because she would only be a hindrance.  For how foolish she'd been.  After seeing Naruto's face she knew she couldn't live like this any more.

This was really the breaking point for the young, frustrated kunoichi.  She was sick and tired of relying on others, it was time for her to find her own strength.  After seeing the incredible medical feats of the new Hokage she decided to bite the bullet and beg her to allow Sakura to become her apprentice.  Tsunade agreed and was a harsh teacher, it made Sakura realize this was how hard she should have been working all along and couldn't help but feel slightly bitter at Kakashi's neglect of her.  Over the years she had grown an awful lot.  She'd always had a fire within her and combined with the Slug Sannin's training she had turned in to quite the capable shinobi.

Sakura heard the creak of the door opening and turned to see her team mates filing in.  She looked at all their familiar faces in her reminiscent mood felt a surge of warmth for them.  Kakashi the gray haired copy nin who had the majority of face hidden beneath a form fitting mask.  Sakura was one of the very few people that knew what lay underneath the mask.  She recalled the time when they had still been genin and had tried to trick Kakashi into revealing his face to them but of course they hadn't stood a chance at out witting him.  It had been many years later on a dangerous mission to the Earth Country that she had finally witnessed what lay beneath.  Although they remained some civility on a political level they were always hostile to Leaf ninja in their territory.  Team Kakashi had let their guard down in their haste and it had cost them, they had been ambushed by fifteen enemy ANBU.  Thinking back on it Sakura knew they were lucky to be alive after that incident.  Kakashi had received a deep cut on his neck that would prove to be fateful without immediate medical attention and there had been nothing for it but to take his mask off.  Sakura wasn't exactly sure what she'd been expecting from Kakashi's face, there was nothing abnormal about it at all.  He had strong handsome features and unscathed skin, to be honest it was a mystery to her why he bothered with the mask.  It was strange but from that day forward she felt a deepened bond with her team mate and former sensei, it wasn't by any stretch of the imagination the first time she'd saved his life so she knew that wasn't the reason for the new depth in their friendship.  This had been roughly a year ago now and her and Kakashi had grown continuously closer, she saw him as an older brother, always there to protect and comfort her.  Not that she liked the idea of being protected and had told her former sensei just this many times.

She then turned her attention to Sai, Sasuke's replacement.  Except that wasn't what he was anymore, he was no longer just a ninja assigned to fill the gap in their team, they were true friends with true bonds.  His resemblance to Sasuke was uncanny, the same milky white skin, dark hair and ebony eyes.  When she had first set eyes upon him she wondered if some higher power was taunting her by replacing Sasuke with a boy who bore such a striking similarity.  He had been rude and completely unaware of social norms when they first met resulting in her lashing out at him.  As time passed she realized he simply couldn't help the way he was, he had been trained to have no emotions whatsoever and she watched as he tried to hard to forge bonds.  Over the last couple of years she had become very attached to Sai and he had gained some level of normalcy and feelings.  She knew that he cared about them too and it made her happy to know he had a chance at living a real life now.

Yamato had been the new team leader for their mission to retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, chosen especially for his ability to keep the Kyuubi under control.  He wasn't as kind hearted as Kakashi and had forced them to really open their eyes to the reality of the shinobi world for the first time and take a good look.  At the time both her and Naruto had only ever been under the leadership of Kakashi and this was a rude wake up call for them, albeit a much needed one.  Yamato still remained in ANBU but often accompanied the other members of Team Kakashi on missions.  Sakura had undoubtedly grown fond of him, he was a kind and caring man if not a little scary at times.

Sakura held an unconditional love for Naruto.  They were the very best friends and although they didn't always see eye to eye and her temper often got the better of her when it came to him she could honestly say there was no one she cared more about.  The two of them had been through so much together and no one else could truly understand their desperate desire to bring Sasuke back home.  Much to Sakura's surprise Naruto had grown very handsome over the years, not to mention tall.  When they had been younger he had always been the shortest, even shorter than her, not to mention goofy looking.  His golden hair was longer now and framed his face which had matured, leaving behind strong, defined features.  He had beautiful azure eyes that were full of life and happiness and Sakura often noted the appreciative looks he received from the females of Konoha.  Despite her unconditional love for Naruto, Sakura still wasn't in love with him.  For a time she thought she might be falling for him but she after a while it had become clear to her that it was simply a growing sense of admiration for the young man.  She cared deeply for Naruto and to be honest he was shocked that after all this time he still was in love with her.  For six years now he'd had eyes for no one but her and his loyalty flattered her to no end.  She wanted him to find happiness and hoped that eventually he would come to see that she wasn't the one for him.

Sakura had become lost in thought and snapped back to reality suddenly.  She could see her team mates looked confused as she felt as to why they had been called here so urgently.  Tsunade let out a small sigh, drawing attention to herself.  The five heads turned to look at her and she in turn raised her slightly bowed head to meet their gazes.  There was such exhaustion in her eyes that even the usually hasty Naruto didn't demand to know why they were all gathered there and waited for her to speak.  There was few moments more silence that seemed to span a lifetime before their superior spoke.

“Akatsuki have been sighted several times within the last week, it appears they are heading towards the Fire Country” she said at last.  Naruto let out a low throaty noise but let her continue.

“It seems the Akatsuki in question are Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, I'm sure you're all aware of the implications of this.  It is no secret that Itachi is the after the Kyuubi inside Naruto, however, it is shocking news that they have entered the Fire Country and appear to be coming directly to Konoha, a very dangerous move even for shinobi of their caliber.  It is also surprising that they don't seem to have made any real effort to remain inconspicuous” she paused in thought, as if trying to figure out what all of this meant.  Sakura had to admit it made no sense whatsoever, her mentor was right, even Akatsuki couldn't just waltz into Konoha and happily walk away with the Kyuubi.

Naruto broke the pensive silence “What the hell?!  Are they just going to come try and grab me!  They better be ready for the ass kicking of their lives!” but Sakura could hear the edge of uncertainty in his voice.

“There's more” Tsunade interrupted quietly.  “Sasuke has also been trailing the pair, he has been causing problems for them for some time now, making it hard for them to accomplish their goals no doubt...”

Sakura's eyes  narrowed, wondering what the Godaime was suggesting by this.

“The only reason that makes any sense for the Akatsuki to enter the Fire Country so recklessly is that it has something to do with Sasuke.  As I said before he is causing problems for them and as you all know from your encounter with him two years ago Sasuke had become very strong, who knows what he has achieved since then.  No doubt they want to avoid fighting him if possible.  Sasuke happens to be a missing nin and is wanted by Konoha and I'm sure you're aware at the lengths we have gone to in order to retrieve him.  Akatsuki are well informed and I highly doubt this has gone unnoticed by them and perhaps they are trying to take advantage of the situation.  My guess is they have some sort of plan, that we will send a team to retrieve Sasuke, no doubt your team” she said solemnly looking at them all “as we have always done in the past.”

Kakashi took over from there as he appeared to have also worked out the situation “I see, they're counting on Sasuke not wanting to return to Konoha, which of course he most likely won't.  They're counting on us taking this opportunity to retrieve Sasuke and his resistance.  Giving them the chance to snatch Naruto whilst we and Sasuke are distracted by each other.”

Sakura's eyes widened at this, she still was amazed from time to time at how they could have so little information and manage to work out enemy shinobi's plans.  Sakura was hard pressed to think of two ninjas more experienced and wise than Kakashi and Tsunade and she guessed it was this experience that allowed them to unravel such situations.

“Although, I must say if this truly is their intention it is incredibly arrogant of them to believe that they will end up achieving it.  No doubt they have something else up their sleeve that we haven't picked up on” he continued.

“So what are you planning on doing?” Naruto said quietly, taking in what had just been said.

“I'm sending Team Kakashi to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and bring him back to Konoha” Tsunade answered with utter conviction.  Five pairs of eyes widened in shock.  “But Hokage-sama we'd be walking right in to Akatsuki's trap!” Yamato exclaimed.  

“Yes, it does appear that way, doesn't it?” she replied coolly.  “Even so we can't simply ignore the fact that this is quite possibly the best chance we'll ever have to deal with those irritating Uchiha brothers who have caused me nothing but problems.  Itachi is the common enemy here, perhaps Sasuke won't be thrilled to see you but I'm sure he much rather fight Itachi than you.  In the best case scenario Sasuke would eliminate the threat of Itachi whilst your team took care of his partner Kisame.  Then in Sasuke's weakened state after the battle you can bring him back to Konoha, or better yet he chooses to come back of his own free will.  We effectively have the chance to kill two birds with one stone”

This statement appeared to anger Naruto who growled “What about the worst case scenario?” his eyes flaring as he spoke.  

“In the worse case scenario where Itachi seems to be overpowering Sasuke, you escape whilst he is distracted with the task at hand.”  Sakura watched as fury washed across her friend's face but Tsunade simply held her hand up to silence him and he didn't say anything.  This was shocking in itself, Naruto never treated her with respect but there was something about the Godaime today, something in her eyes that made even Naruto hesitant to anger her.  

“I know this will undoubtedly upset you Naruto and that you'd quite happily risk your own life to protect Sasuke.  I know how much he means to all of you which is why I have been so lenient with you all concerning the matter over the past few years.  However, this isn't just about you or Sasuke.  You want to be Hokage one day, don't you Naruto?”  He nodded.  “Well, the Hokage has to protect the people of their village, that is their duty as the Hokage.  We are still unsure of what it is exactly the Akatsuki are planning but there is a reason behind their collecting of bijuu.  To be quite frank I don't ever want to find out what it is that they're planning to do with them because there is no doubt in my mind it would be catastrophic.  If you let yourself fall into their hands to protect Sasuke, think of all the harm you could cause everyone Naruto.  You are more than aware of the power the Kyuubi possesses, if you allow them to harness that how many people do you think would be hurt?  No doubt many of your precious people...”  her words rung in the air.

Sakura wasn't sure she'd ever seen such fear on Naruto's face.  He was never scared in battle, he would always fight for what he believed in with no fear and no regrets.  Yet she could see how petrified this had him, she had taken his control away.  Sakura knew all to well that Naruto would sacrifice his life to protect Sasuke and that he'd quite happily do the same for her.  Obviously Naruto had never wanted to let the Kyuubi fall into the hands of Akatsuki but at the same time Sakura was pretty sure that it had never occurred to him what devastation it could cause, how many people could be hurt.  How many people could be killed.

After the Hokage had finished filling them in with the relevant information they had been dismissed to prepare and meet again in an hours time.  She now stood in her small apartment, she had moved into it a few months ago when she had turned eighteen.  It was a sweet little place and she liked it a lot, it really felt like home.  She enjoyed the freedom she now had, she could come home any time she wished and felt like a real adult.  She had never enjoyed living with her parents, she loved them but they had never exactly been close.  Neither of them were ninja and never really understood her lifestyle and her choices.  She hated them seeing her weapons and her bloody clothes and felt a lot more comfortable living in her own modest place.  She filled her pack with a spare change of clothes, some medical scrolls and some other basic supplies.  She picked up the framed photo of Team Seven when they had first became genin, it was a ritual for her to do so before she embarked on a mission.  She smiled weakly at the memory of it, the annoyed expressions on her team mates faces at having to be in a team with one another.  On the day the photo was taken none of them had known how close they'd end up growing, how much they'd do for each other.  Especially Naruto and Sasuke, her smile dissolved as she remembered how much Sasuke wanted to sever those bonds, yet they still hadn't given up and here they were trying once again to bring back their lost friend.  

Sakura was no longer in love with Sasuke as she once had been, she found she still loved him but in the same way she loved Naruto.  She of course loved Naruto more, her trust of him ran much deeper.  She had expected to remain a broken shell forever more after Sasuke's departure and for a while she had become more withdrawn, especially after Naruto left for three years to train with the Sannin Jiraiya.  She had felt very alone but it had given her time to train hard and reflect on her feelings.  After some time of contemplating her love for Sasuke she came to find that in some abstract way she actually wanted to be Sasuke.  Well, not be him, but be like him.  He was cool, popular, good looking, admired and strong.  All things that she had desired to be herself.  After she found the source for her love she had thought it ridiculous, she was no longer a little girl and those things didn't matter to her any more.  She no longer had silly, unimportant aspirations and after getting close to Sasuke she knew that despite having these things he was far from happy.  

After she had truly figured some things out about herself she had become much stronger and more self assured.  She knew what it was she wanted for the first time ever and she was determined to not let her boys down and become stronger for them.  

Sakura approached the grand, ruby red gates of Konoha to see Naruto waiting there anxiously for her “Hurry up Sakura-chan!” he called out to her.  She smiled at him a broke into a run and soon reached the rest of her team.

“Ready?” Kakashi asked sounding rather too relaxed for her liking considering the situation.  That was just him though and she knew in a way it was just an act to reassure his team mates.  Everyone nodded and Sakura cast her home of Konoha a fond backwards glance as they moved out.