Disclaimer: remember…if you are confused, then I've done my job…

Important!: This is a sequel to 'A continuous circle', so if you haven't read that, go to my profile and read that before you read this. If you don't you will be lost beyond belief.

Also, to those who have read. This is taking place not long after Tobi joined the Akatsuki. But he is not a Uchiha nor is he the person Pein reports to. He is just the youngest, newest, member of the Akatsuki. Also, I would like to warn you ahead of time that because I am not up to date with the manga/anime (due to the fact that I can only see as far as what is shown on Toonami) that I may mess some things up that have to do with the Akatsuki (and possibly other things too). So, you've been pre-warned. (I can't get to any of the websites that have the updated manga/anime because my computer stinks…I can't even get onto Wikipedia or Google Images!)

If anyone wants to send me info on the Akatsuki at the time around Tobi's joining, you may. I would especially like for people to tell me about the members personalities (that way I don't make them too OOC).

In this story:

-Sakura is 15 almost 16

-Itachi is 24 & Kakashi is 27 (because I messed with their ages)

-Sasuke, Naruto and so on are 16 other than Team Gai who are 17

Oh, and it's important to know that in this time (because I think Naruto is most like way back in the past) it is common for people to marry as young as sixteen (because that's the way it was, way-back-when).

Ok…I'm tired of having to PM people this, so I'm going to tell you all now. Please, do not use His name in vein when you review…I am religious. Thank you.

Now…onto the story…

Chapter 1: Return

This time Sakura was conscious as she flew through the white light that she guessed indicated time travel. She felt as if her heart had been made of glass and had shattered. It had already happened once before, with Sasuke, and now it had happened again. Where the Uchiha brothers destined to not only shatter but demolish her heart?

Sasuke Uchiha had broken her heart and left with a part of it. It had taken her years to glue the pieces that he had left back together. Then she had used the Scroll of the Circle and gone back to the past. There she had met and fallen in love with Itachi …and foolishly she had though she could stop the massacre. But then that old woman, her great-grandmother, just had to come and point out her foolishness.

She and Itachi had just found out they loved each other. She had been so sure she had changed things…but according to her great-grandmother, who she deep down knew was correct…she had only made Itachi into the very person she had tried to steer him away from. He wouldn't even remember her…

She wasn't sure when exactly during that conversation it had happened, but right as she had felt herself slipping away from that time she noticed that her heart had been broken yet again, this time into even smaller pieces…and another large piece had been taken by yet another Uchiha.

Sakura tore her thoughts away from her shattered heart…the old woman had warned her that she would be in danger as soon as she returned to her own time…and she didn't know how long her trip in this white abyss would last. She had to be ready for anything.

Her heart sank, she wasn't even dressed appropriately for a battle. She was still wearing her Yukata from the festival and she didn't have any weapons. What was worse, her use of her Kekkei Genkai had drained her Chakra greatly. She still had some, luckily, but not much. If she had to fight right away she would have to be careful how much she used.

The only good thing she could think of was that at least this time she had her Leaf forehead protector. That wouldn't do her much good, but it was comforting to know she had it all the same. She knew that she should be preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, but…she felt that there could be no 'best' when she couldn't bring herself to feel 'hope'. She had hoped so much during her little trip to the past…but now all those hopes had been dashed and she couldn't bring herself to try to hope again. Not when all her efforts before were for nothing.

Sakura knew that tears were still pouring from her eyes, but she couldn't stop them. It was like the dam that had been holding them back had suddenly been removed and the tears were going to flood with a vengeance. She wiped her eyes until the worst of the tears were gone. Just as she felt that she would soon stop crying the whiteness seemed to start to fade.

Sakura moved into a fighting stance, unsure of what to expect. The white dulled for an unknowable amount of time, then suddenly it flashed brighter than it had ever been. Sakura had to shield her eyes, it was so bright. When she could look she found that she was exactly where she had been when she first opened the Scroll of the Circle.

Then suddenly the sound and sights of this time hit her and she knew that the old woman hadn't been kidding when she'd said she would return only to pop up right smack-dab in the middle of a fight between the Akatsuki and Sound.

Sakura hid the fear she felt trembling through her as she saw that the two Akatsuki members and the ten Sound ninja had stopped mid battle and were looking at her. Her great-grandmother hadn't been kidding about that either…

Itachi had been restless all day, not that he'd shown it. He was currently leaning against a wall at one of their bases, his eyes closed, ignoring the three other Akatsuki members who were there too. It had been almost two months since the day they had reported the 'disappearing girl' and the burn mark she'd left behind to the Leader.

It had also been almost two months since he touched that burn mark and remembered everything. Until then he had noticed major blank spots in his memory, but he had ignored them, acting on his gut feeling instead of what he couldn't remember. Now he knew what fit into all those blank spots…or more importantly, who.

The Leader hadn't seemed too surprised when they'd told him what had happened. In fact, he had acted like he had been expecting it. He immediately ordered some of them to take turns keeping an eye on the burn mark. When the first part of the mark disappeared, the Leader told them that they would check up on it once a week until it was almost gone, and then they would resume their daily surveillance.

Just the day before there had been only two marks left and the Leader finally told them what they were watching the mark for, though Itachi had already guessed. They were waiting for the 'disappearing girl' to reappear, and that when she did, they were to capture her alive and in one piece. To everyone's surprise he had gone on to warn them not to harm her more than necessary to capture her. He also left out the reason for their need to capture her.

It was currently Deidara's and Tobi's turn to watch over the sole mark that was left. That was why Itachi was restless and why he was agitated. He had, of course, told Leader what he'd remembered and once again Leader had looked like he had been expecting something like that. He had asked Leader to let him be the one to wait for her, but all Leader would agree to was to add him and Kisame to the group that was to send two members, that would switch every eight hours, to keep an eye on the mark and to capture the girl if she appeared.

He hadn't been happy about having to be in a group, but he hadn't argued. He'd know the moment she returned anyways, even if he wasn't the one on duty at the time of her return. After all, he now remembered everything that had to do with her. All those years ago, after he'd figured out he loved her and had then been faced with the experience of being separated from her when she was in danger, he'd known he would need a way to find her wherever she was. That was why he'd-

Itachi's eyes snapped open, his tie to her had just reappeared…Sakura was back. He didn't waste a moment in explanation, he left in the blink of an eye. He knew Kisame would follow him and that the other two would let him leave; but none of them would try to stop him. None of them were that stupid.

Sakura stared at them, they stared at her…everything had gone still and silent. Then the moment was shattered as there came a large explosion and a cloud of dust. Sakura didn't wait to see who was alive and who was dead, she just ran for the forest, her best chance of escape.

She had just barely made it to the edge of the forest when a bomb exploded near her, sending her flying into a tree. Sakura only had time to regain her composure before the two Akatsuki members appeared nearby. Behind them she could see the dead bodies of the Sound ninja.

Sakura focused all her attention on the two Akatsuki, ignoring the pain of the impact. One she recognized as Deidara, the bomb expert (that explained all the explosions). The other had on an orange mask that hid all but one of his eyes. Sakura didn't wait for either of them to make the first move, she decided that now was the time to use what was left of her Chakra. She hit the ground, making it break into tiny pieces under the Akatsuki member's feet. This effectively got them off balance, giving her just enough time to turn, rip the tree out of the ground, and swing it quickly in a wide ark at them.

They barely missed being hit by the tree, but they couldn't escape the draft that the tree created. They were sent flying, but Sakura didn't wait to see them land. She quickly dropped the tree and ran into the forest. She ran as hard as she could, ignoring her pain and how weird it felt to be running in a Yukata. She knew that if they caught back up to her she'd be between a rock and a hard place. She was tiring and she had just used up pretty much all of the little Chakra she had had. She wasn't sure she'd be able to fend off another attack if it came. Her only hope was to lose them in the forest.

But luck had never been on her side, and it proved that it still wasn't going to be on her side when she barely dodged an attack from a third Akatsuki member. Sakura mentally cursed herself, she should have thought about the prospect of there being others nearby.

When she saw who it was who had attacked her, her heart leapt to her throat. It was Kisame…that meant that Itachi had to be nearby. Sakura knew that she wouldn't be able to face Itachi with her heart in the shambles it was in. So she did the only thing she could do in this situation…she ran. But once again luck seemed to want to rub it in that it wasn't on her side.

She had only run about fifty paces when she found herself faced by the two Akatsuki she had originally been running from. Now there was no easy way to escape and she was at the edge of her limits. Sakura frowned, they were closing in, but for some reason they weren't attacking, even though they had the advantage.

Then Sakura remembered what her great-grandmother had told her when she'd said she'd fight to the death if she had to. They wouldn't fight her to the death…because they wanted to capture her alive. Sakura smirked mentally, finally, something that she could use to her advantage. If they didn't want to kill her, then they'd be holding back…and if they hesitated in their attack for even a fraction of a second…she could escape.

Sakura waited until they were close enough, then she made her move. She feigned an attacked at the closest one to her, Kisame…and there it was, that moment of uncertainty. She dashed past him as he hesitated and kept on going. She made the hand signs the moment she knew she was hidden by a large tree. Using the last of her available Chakra she made a perfect clone who continued running as she hid behind the tree.

To her relief, the three Akatsuki members fell for it, but she knew it wouldn't last very long. They had only been fooled because they knew she was wearing out and they wanted to capture her alive. Sakura felt dead tiered, but she knew she had to keep running. If she stopped now, she knew she'd be unable to continue.

She turned and ran in a different direction then had her clone. She ran and ran, but luck still was not on her side. It wasn't long before she heard the Akatsuki behind her. She hesitated a moment, then risked a glance behind her and saw that all three were catching up with her. Then luck decided to show its dislike for her once again.

Looking back hadn't been a good chance to take when she knew luck had it out for her. She ran into something and stumbled backwards, biting back a gasp as pain shot through her chest. Her head swerved forwards as she regained her balance and saw what she had run into.

She froze and her heart skipped a beat as she looked up at not what she had run into, but who. Itachi…it was Itachi. She should have never looked back and she shouldn't have hesitated…because now that she had stopped running, her fatigue caught up with her. Her fatigue, paired with her emotional turbulence, was her undoing. She couldn't make herself move, she couldn't bring herself to look away from him, even though she knew he wouldn't remember that he had ever loved her.

It was all too much for her exhausted body. Her vision tunneled and she felt herself begin to fall. She didn't even know if she said it out loud or not, but she tried to ask, "Why?" And then everything went dark.

And that's the first chapter! I hope you liked it. The epilogue of A continuous circle won't be explained until the end of this story…so you'll just have to wait!

Reviews and constructive criticisms only…no flames allowed! (You know the drill.) Now…on to the pretty list!

Thanks to: icegoddess52 (you'll just have to wait to find out), Lenore Hepburn (however long it needs to be), Fallen Love, Hugs4Gaara07, DeidaraAddiction, Dreamergirl92813, krazykoreangurl, Sakimi1014, Shadow Ninja, won't be the Victim, bubbleyum, DemonicAngel08, Sage Phoneix (I know…I did that on purpose), Crazy Neko Girl, MaC Of The Insect People (yes, I know…but Nebraska is large…you'd have a hard time finding me. Do you know how many small towns out in the middle of nowhere there are in Nebraska?), Itachi4Eva, SpeedDemon315, Defiant-Crayon, cherryblossomsky, SnowSkadi, MizukiAKAZuki, snowecat, uknown (I have no way of sending it to Masashi Kishimotto…and I doubt he'd care about a fanfic),Kagome093, pinky101, Sandlewood996, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, Gothic Raven, inu-babi-00, Chibi Kabuto, Nekory-Sama, CosenAngel, Starlight - Wild Koneko, xnarutoxrocksx, Quiet Moon, xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, Shade, Cnguyen456 (you'll just have to wait and see), ., Rangerette, Ur-Bloody-Valentine, xokatherine229, sakura-angel113, chikarubunny (Thanks, and yes…I did make the epilogue vague on purpose), Addi-Chan, magickbendingdemon, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, AppleBlossom69, Chocochip Haruka (I thank you for your kind words), Jax9, moonhuntress09, Flower of the Desert, The Reveiwer known as Name, animelover123456, Malignant-Librarian, meisi, NARUTARDMJR14, Hao'sAnjul, Jane, kiwi-kikia, inn0centdr3ameR, Gothic Saku-chan, tonnora, XxKayxKayxX, Kasaru Hatake, Ilse Montage, drake999 (that's what the sequel's for), & Makokam (you know…if you killed me…you'd never get a sequel) for reviewing!