Yamato slid to an abrupt stop, turning back to face his frozen Team member. Anko had stilled sooner than he had, kunai ready and eyes narrowed. She was ready for a fight, but he wasn't so sure that was the problem.

"Sai. What is it?"

The boy in question didn't answer. In his hand was a small black mouse, one of his ink creations, and it was clear that some form of message had been received.

Yamato had spent quite a lot of time studying Sai, and while a lot of things still remained in the dark he knew well enough now to know when something was wrong. He'd informed them earlier that he may have to leave them at any given moment to pursue a second mission, but he'd never given the details. Top secret or not, if Sai was truly as worried as he looked, something wasn't going as planned.

Sai let the mouse in his hand melt, taking a deep breath to steady himself. He knew better than to doubt his own abilities, but the reality if he didn't was something more than he could handle.

Not now…not when he was just learning to make friends, and to open up to others. It was too soon.

Too soon to lose one!

His mission was to locate Kisame Hoshigaki, and Itachi Uchiha, but he'd also sent his mouse to track the whereabouts of Sakura. He needed to be sure she was ok. She was one of Naruto's important people, and one he'd come to call friend. If something were to happen to her, the consequences would be dire.

He'd never imagined his whim to find her, would lead him not only to Itachi, but Sasuke as well. There wasn't enough information for him to truly understanding what was going on, but if Sakura was in the same vicinity as those two then she would be in grave danger soon.

It was his duty to try and detain the two remaining Akatsuki members if possible, and he was going to do just that. Sakura would just have to hold out for just a while longer.

"I must leave now. My secondary mission has now become my primary objective." Sai announced, turning toward the east. "I will send word if I'm able to rejoin this mission."

Anko nodded, looking to Yamato for confirmation.

Yamato forced a neutral expression on his face, looking toward the east. What business could he possibly have in the east? Information, recon, or retrieval?

No, the answer was in front of him. It's why Sai was chosen to join their team. His tracking skills were top notch. If this mission took precedence over finding Kabuto, Sai had to be tracking another criminal. Could it have something to do with Pain, or the Akatsuki in general? Sending only one person wouldn't be the best strategy if that was the case. Jiraiya had fallen to Akatsuki, so Sai wouldn't be a match for them either.

Then again, Lady Tsunade was already in a corner as far as manpower went. If she didn't have anyone to spare, then using Sai to accomplish two jobs wouldn't be out of the question.

"Very well."

Sai nodded, quickly revealing a scroll to summon a giant ink bird. His brush swiped across the page rapidly, and with a final hand sign his creation came to life. With one last glance at his group, Sai jumped onto his giant bird and took off eastward.

"Do you think there is something more going on here?" Anko asked, once Sai was nearly out of sight.

Yamato didn't reply, keeping his eye on the sky and the large bird disappearing in the distance.

They'd find out soon enough.

Xoxoxo

"Where are you running to girl?!"

Sakura forced her legs to move faster, pushing beyond her own limits. Her muscles ached, and sweat poured into her eyes, but stopping would be the end. She had to reach the hotel before they reached her. It was her only chance.

She'd been a fool, to think that a few training sessions with an Uchiha would be enough to help her defeat Sasuke. Itachi couldn't change who she really was. He couldn't make her an Uchiha, or even a Naruto. In the end she would always be running, searching for someone else to protect her.

"Run Haruno, and don't look back!"

A part of her had wanted to stay, to fight, but she would not have lasted long. Itachi knew this, and she knew this. Even if she had been at full strength, it would not have made a difference. She would still be running, always running.

"Then are you in turn willing to sacrifice Sasuke for your friends?"

She'd been right in front of him. Instead of breaking the wires and running she could have gone toward him. She could have attacked and maybe caught him off guard.

She hadn't been able to bring herself to do it. To kill Sasuke, it would mean the end of something important, something special. That picture in his old room, the memories they shared, they were so valuable. The compassion she had for Sasuke, it made her weak.

"Was my compassion a weakness?"

"She's a fast one Juugo! It's time to close the gap!"

That day in the mountain! Had she really forgotten something so important? It was the day her compassion had become her greatest strength. The day she'd stopped running, if only for a short while. It was a decision that had come with risk, and sacrifices.

In the shinobi world, being prepared to take risk and make sacrifices was everything. Sakura had always tried to hold onto everything, never doing anything that would result in anything less then what she'd desired. It was the reason she made Naruto promise to bring back Sasuke, and the reason she'd become a medical ninja.

Having compassion for others meant making sacrifices for yourself sometimes. Like the day she'd cut her hair to take down those sound ninja, and when she'd taken Sasori's sword for Chiyo, or when she'd healed Itachi in the mountain.

Taking on Sasuke for Naruto had been her desires speaking, to hold onto everything. She hadn't been able to kill Sasuke because then she'd have to let go of something, even if that something was the enemy. She ran, because it was familiar.

That was why she could never be as good as Naruto, or as strong as Itachi. She was always running, and letting herself be protected. She never took risk.

"Not anymore!"

Sakura pivoted her foot against the next branch, spinning her body round until she was facing the two chasing her. Without a second thought she launched her body at Juugo, and slammed her chakra laced fist into his stomach.

"Not anymore!" She repeated, eyes flashing dangerously.

Juugo crashed into Suigetsu, sending both of them flying into the trees behind them. Neither had been expecting the sudden assault, and they weren't given a chance to formulate an attack strategy.

Sakura's foot came crashing down where the two had been just a moment ago, creating a small crater in the ground. She glanced to the left, seething with barely contained rage. Her right hand was red from the punch she delivered earlier, and Suigetsu quickly realized it wasn't just bruising.

It was blood. She'd injured Juugo more than he'd originally thought.

"Something's different." Suigetsu murmured, taking a step back. He held his sword up in a defensive stance; ready to pounce should she come at him again like that. He didn't like that wild look in her eyes, nor the unpredictable way she was moving. He didn't doubt his own strength, but he wasn't one who liked very much to be caught off guard either.

The last time had landed him in a tank under the observation of Orochimaru.

"She won't be running anymore." Juugo replied, his eyes growing wider. "I'm going to kill her."

Suigetsu groaned. "Don't tell me you're going all physcho now."

Juugo grinned, his body contorting to the cursed seal form. The normally calm demeanor he carried was nowhere to be found, replaced by a monster of madness. A gurgled cackle escaped his mouth, followed by a twisted smile. If Sakura felt any fear it didn't show on her face.

"You die now!"

"Earth style, underground swim!"

Sakura threw herself to the ground as the Samahada broke through the grass under her, and Kisame lurched out of the hole he'd created, landing next to her. His grin spoke volumes as he looked down at her, cracking his knuckles.

"You look a little worse for wear girl. Don't tell me you've already given up."

Sakura shook her head, filling her fist with chakra. Kisame grinned, patting her on the head roughly.

"Don't get in my way pinky. I've got no problem with chopping you into tiny pieces."

Sakura glared, pushing herself up on her feet to face her opponents. "Likewise, fish face."

"Kisame Hoshigaki." Suigetsu smirked, stepping forward past a barely restrained Jugo. "One of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. The great wielder of the sword Samahada. I've been waiting a long time to fight you. That sword of yours will soon be mine."

Kisame held his sword out toward Suigetsu and Juugo, flashing his sharp teeth. "You look familiar kid. The sword in your hands I know all too well, but I don't know you."

"His name is Suigetsu." Sakura spat, raising her arms for offensive combat. "He can alter his body into a liquid state, and he's capable of using Zabuza's sword proficiently."

"Mangetsu's younger brother, the little brat that wanted to be a swordsman. I remember you now." Kisame grinned wider, brushing his hand lightly over his sword. "If you want to kill the girl, you'll have to wait until we are through with her first. I'll be happy to hand her over afterwards."

"If that's the way you want it." Suigetsu shrugged, releasing Jugo's shoulder from his grip. "I can't agree to your terms."

Jugo launched himself forward, heading straight for Sakura. Before Kisame could act Suigetsu was in front of him, swinging the executioner's blade toward his throat. Kisame blocked effortlessly, pushing the boy back with his strength.

There was a crash behind them, and Kisame had to resist the urge to look and see if the girl was alright. She didn't look like she was at one hundred percent, but the larger one did. In a fight he wasn't too sure the girl would come out victorious.

Why should he care though? The girl would be as good as dead either way. He should just let the orange haired brat take care of her and rid himself of the nuisance. It would be all to easy to explain to Itachi, and then he could get his own answers without the girls interference.

"Itachi must be facing off with his little brother about now. I'd hate to disturb them, so I think I'll keep the two of you occupied for a while." Kisame grinned, swinging Samahada out toward Suigetsu. "Prepare yourself boy."

Suigetsu grit his teeth, holding his ground. From his position he could clearly see the smashed land behind Kisame, but through all the rubble and dust he couldn't quite see what was happening. Jugo was a monster, but if pinky pulled a fast one on him he'd be at a disadvantage. Karin wasn't around to take care of Jugo, and he wasn't sure how long he could hold out against both Kisame and Sakura while trying to get Jugo out.

Kisame looked dead set on fighting him though, and Jugo was fixated on pinky. Trading was impossible at this point. Even though he was sure he could fight pinky and win, he wasn't sure if Jugo would win against Kisame. In fact, he was almost positive Jugo would lose. They would still be at a disadvantage anyway.

'I'll just have to hope that Sasuke makes his revenge quick. Otherwise things might not go so well for all of us.'

Xoxoxo

"What were you doing with Sakura?"

Itachi frowned, keeping his eyes trained on Sasuke's blade. The chakra coursing through it was unmistakably lightning style, and he knew just how well Sasuke could manipulate that chakra. The distance between them was no obstacle, so he'd have to be prepared to move at a seconds notice.

"She is not your concern little brother, and I do not intend to explain myself to you."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, black turning to red. Itachi observed the change, preparing himself for the beginning of what promised to be a genjutsu battle. Sasuke's sharingan wasn't as powerful as his own yet, but that didn't mean his little brother wasn't skilled in utilizing his. Even without the Mangekyo, he would be a formidable foe.

If this had been not to long ago, when he'd still been stricken with illness, he would not have imagined surviving this fight. He would have allowed Sasuke to win as planned. Now that he was in perfect health, he wasn't quite ready to let Sasuke defeat him. He still had some things to take care of, and his little brother could use the extra time to grow stronger.

He was almost certain that Madara would go after Sasuke if he wasn't around, and he needed to make sure that the two would never meet. That issue would have to be dealt with before he allowed himself to go full force against Sasuke. Yet even without the illness, he was running out of time.

"Don't you dare tell me who is my concern and who isn't! What is my old teammate doing with you Itachi?! Answer me!" Sasuke roared, rushing forward.

Itachi dodged to the left, meeting Sasuke's blade with him kunai as it came down on him. His eyes met Sasuke's for an instant, and the genjutsu was in place. He only needed to deter Sasuke, not rile him up. The last time they'd met he'd been much younger, and Itachi had needed to remind him of his goal. This time Sasuke was older, and stronger. He was confident he could defeat Sasuke, but it would be one hell of a fight.

Goading Sasuke with a disturbing genjutsu was not in his favor. This needed to end quickly.

"Sasuke he's got you! Break the genjutsu!"

Itachi straightened, looking to the red headed girl several yards away. She was one of Sasuke's teammates, and it appeared she was injured. She didn't seem like she was willing to jump into the battle herself, but if she could tell Sasuke was trapped in a genjutsu that quickly she had to be a sensory type. Her insight would be a nuisance, especially if she continued to interfere through observation.

He'd never liked to harm others without good reason, but this girl needed to be silenced one way or another.

His hands were poised to form the signs nessesary for his firestyle, when a kick to his midsection suddenly forced him backward.

"Karin…"

Itachi managed to keep upright, landing carefully on the ground a short distance away. Sasuke had broken the genjutsu, without the aid of an outsider. If he could break it that quickly, placing him under another one would be a waste of time. Using the Tsukoyomi took a lot out of him though, and he didn't want to undo the progress Sakura had made on his eyes.

Speaking of Sakura, he had to end this battle quickly for her sake as well. She was sure to be having trouble with Sasuke's team, and even though he had faith in her abilities the odds were against her.

"Go and join Suigetsu and Juugo. I do not need you here." Sasuke demanded, keeping his eyes trained on Itachi.

Karin shook her head fiercely, standing. "What if you get hurt? One of us should be here to assist-"

Itachi watched his brothers face change, and knew what he was about to do even before it happened. Sasuke turned toward Karin, hand charged with lightning chakra aimed in her direction. There wasn't time to think, only to act.

Itachi activated his Mangekyo, focusing on the narrow area between Sasuke and Karin. Before Sasuke's hand could cross the distance a surge of black flames rose up from the grass, cutting off his path. Even as he moved to avoid them Itachi forced them closer, pushing him back until Sasuke finally turned toward him instead of Karin.

He felt the pain in his eye increase when he stopped his jutsu, and had to stop himself from grimacing. That was a risky move, and he shouldn't have done so just to save the life of one meaningless girl.

Still, for just a moment, he'd seen Sakura in that girl. A teammate of Sasukes, so easily discarded as if they were only a broken kunai. A pink haired girl crying at the loss of the boy she cared most about, the boy she didn't want to hurt. Green eyes filled with sorrow, as they looked to him for answers.

He'd never intended to allow Sakura to kill his little brother, but seeing how easy it was for him to turn on his teammates for the sake of revenge almost made him change his mind. He'd never intended for this to happen. He never wanted any of this. All he wanted to do was reach out to his brother, and let him know that he was here.

That dream was never meant to be.

"She offered me something, in exchange for the skills to kill you."

Sasuke froze, staring at Itachi with disbelief in his eyes. "You're lying."

Itachi forced his expression to be cold, unwavering. "I have no reason to lie Sasuke. She came to me of her own accord, and struck a deal for the sake of her friends and country. It seems to me that she has resolved to destroy her heart, in exchange for the lives of those important to her. A foolish notion," Exactly what I have done. "However, her plan was in my favor. How could I refuse her? Besides,"

Itachi disappeared from Sasuke's sight, in a swirl of ravens.

"…if you deemed her useless, you should have no qualms with my using her." She won't be cast aside by me, little brother.

The genjutsu was cast, and this time Sasuke wasn't escaping.

Xoxoxo

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…" Sakura heaved, strangling her leg to try and lesson the pain. A decent sized branch had wedged itself into her skin, breaking out through the other side of her thigh. Her crash into the rocks under her hadn't done the injury much good, but she hadn't been able to slow her decent.

It had been all she could manage to drag the poison senbon nestled in her skirt out in time to drive it into her attacker's neck. If not for that, she was sure the damage would have been worse.

That didn't mean she was in the clear though. That poison was created for temporary paralysis, lasting a short five minutes. She'd originally brought it on the off chance Kisame attempted to attack her while they were on the road. Unfortunately it was the only senbon shed coated, and she didn't bring the vial of poison with her.

Not to mention, that poison was created based on a normal persons system. Jugo appeared to have a developed version of the cursed seal, and she wasn't all that sure how that would affect the duration time of the poison. If luck was on her side she would have time to fix her wound and disable him before he regained mobility.

She grit her teeth when her fingers nudged the branch. It was in deep, and if she wasn't careful pieces of the branch could become lodged inside of her skin. She had to prevent further injuries and risk of infection. With just three minutes to pull it out, heal the wound, and get to Jugo though…

She'd have to do this the hard way.

"Kyaaaahhh!" Sakura screamed, yanking the entire branch out in one swift pull.

Her leg was on fire, and the wound was already bleeding heavily from both ends. She couldn't see well enough around all the red to tell if any splinters were lodged in the wound, but she didn't have time enough to do complete a full check. She'd just have to seal it and hope everything came out smooth.

A shuffle to her left was the only warning she got before a hand closed around her throat, lifting her high into the air.

"Impossible…" Sakura hacked, clawing desperately at the hand around her neck. Jugo already had full mobility in at least three of his limbs. The only sign that her poison had worked was his left arm, which lay limp at his side. That knowledge did her no good though, as he only needed one hand to cut off her air supply.

She tried to move, scream, do anything, but his grip was unrelenting. She was losing the battle with unconsciousness.

"Water shark bomb jutsu!"

Sakura had no warning before the hand around her throat was gone. Within seconds she hit the ground, gasping for air in between fits of coughing. She had no time to gather herself though, because she was being lifted off the ground once again, and hoisted over a broad shoulder.

"Don't take a nap on the job pinky."

"Kisame…?" Sakura felt her head spin as everything caught up to her. Kisame had saved her?

"I can feel Itachi's chakra headed this way. We're going to meet up with him. I'd hoped my jutsu would hit you too, but it looks like I missed, so you'll be coming with me."

Missed? They'd both been still though?

"Suigetsu?" She choked out.

Kisame chuckled, taking off in the direction she'd run from. In the corner of her blurred vision she caught sight of a lone figure, leaning against a tree. She couldn't tell if he was injured or not, but he wasn't chasing after them.

"The kid will be held up for a while. He seemed surprised to feel Itachi's chakra signature headed our way rather than Sasuke's. That gave me the advantage I needed. They'll be more concerned with seeing the damage Itachi inflicted then with chasing after us." Kisame took a sharp right and Sakura hissed as it jostled her leg. "You held out longer than I expected you to girl. If you behave I may even let you have the honor of washing your blood out of my cloths."

Sakura laughed bitterly, closing her eyes. "Not on your life, fish face. Wash them yourself."

"I should drop you." Kisame growled. Instead his grip only became tighter.

Sakura breathed out a sigh, taking hold of the back of Kisame's Akatsuki cloak.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Kisame never responded.

Xoxoxoxo

Been a LONG time since my last update. No promises for the next one. A lot has been happening since my last update, and a lot more is in the future. I'm not sure where this story falls into place, or how much time I'll have for it, but I wanted to give a glimmer of hope. Currently I plan to finish it, but I'm not sure how long it'll take.

I ask you to overlook any spelling mistakes/grammar issues. People have been asking for an update, and I wanted to get this out there quickly. I also went through and changed JUUGO to JUGO because I misunderstood the spelling. If you find a JUUGO still present, my apologies. I must have missed it while editing. I also have a new lap top, so I'm still getting used to it.

I realize not a lot happened in this chapter, but like I said I wanted to get something posted so people see I'm still working on this story. I'll try and make up for it next chapter.

Thanks for being patient!