Sorry for the updates, I'm only clearing up the chapters from any earlier on errors.

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Forget Me Then, Remember Me Now.

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Chapter One.

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She stared at him, wide eyed. How had this come to this! Oh the long journey she took, but she was here, standing in front of her one and only love, practically glowing. She'd waited so long for this moment, to finally find her childhood sweetheart whom she lost at the cause of the damned war, between the sound and the leaf. Damn the sound! That didn't matter anymore though; she was with her beloved once more.

"Neji! My, you have certainly grown, and more handsome than ever!"Said Sakura. She couldn't have been any happier. She was finally here, staring face to face with her long forgotten fiancé! She had almost forgotten her dear friend was standing beside her. The only person he seemed to be staring at, for the moment.

"Ino, my dear, it's been too long!"Yelled Neji, smiling. Sakura wasn't bothered by it at all, they had all been friends since childhood. She looked over to see Ino smiling back full of joy to see her friend again. It had after all been her idea to search for Sakura's long lost soul mate.

"That it has! You've grown quite nicely too, you have muscles now, just as you promised you would when we were six!"She commented as they all had a nice laugh.

"And who would you be nice miss? Should I know you?"Asked Neji, moving his eyes toward Sakura.

Sakura at all wasn't offended by the fact he didn't remember her. Kakashi said he had barely recognized her after only 2 years, and he was her brother! She hadn't seen Neji for more than 4.

"It's me Sakura, remember? Your fiancé."Sakura said, entirely serious now, with only a smile left gracing her pink petal soft lips.

Neji looked surprised for a moment but that only lasted a moment, and a moment after that he was smiling, recognition glistened in his pearly eyes.

"Wow Sakura, I hadn't even recognized you! You've changed so much! You used to be….not as pretty, well what I mean is, dear god Sakura you're beautiful!"Exclaimed Neji. Ino giggled a bit, and Sakura's smile only brightened, her dream was half complete now!

"It's been a long time, but we found each other! We can finally get married! Dear Neji, you have no idea how long I've searched for you! It wasn't easy either!"Sakura said, smile growing wider with each word.

Neji tensed a bit and looked down as if in shame. Just then, as if to answer Sakura, a toddler came running into Neji's leg hugging it tight. Sakura looked down surprised.

"And who does this little boy belong to?"Asked Ino. She leaned down to look at the boy with a smile, which disappeared when the boy showed his face. Ino paled and Sakura's eyes only grew wider. Ino stood up straight up again looking over to Neji for an answer. As if the fates loved ruining Sakura's every day on earth, a woman around 23 called Neji's name, coming into view carrying another small boy. She had nice soft looking brown hair, that couldn't be considered long or short since they were in two buns on the top of her head. She had brown eyes, which held a warm aura. The similarities between the two boys and Neji were almost uncanny. Same pearly white eyes, with the same long smooth coffee brown hair. Sakura understood immediately, her face turned hot and her brows furrowed together.

"What's the meaning of this Neji?"She half yelled scaring the toddler holding onto Neji's leg.

The little boy stomped right over and kicked poor Sakura in the shins, she gasped, glaring at the small kid who went running inside. The woman left chasing after the son, Sakura could hear her giving him a lecture of how 'improper' his behavior was.

"Good god that little son of a-, "Sakura's face tensed up in pain as she held her abused shin, hidden behind the numerous folds of her dress.

"Sakura, I'm truly sorry for this, I never knew you'd still want me, I fought alongside the Sound after all! You despise the Sound! I didn't think I'd have a future with you!" said Neji frantically, feeling guilty for putting Sakura in this state. She always held her pride close to her and to be in this kind of situation was shameful.

Although If he'd really cared to protect her pride, he'd known she lost half of it coming down here to chase after him. He no longer, returned the same feelings; Plain and simple.

Patience Sakura, patience

She chanted in her head, feeling every nerve in her body about to burst.

Screw patience!

"Well then there's nothing more for me here, I'll be off then, congratulations, Neji….dear!" Sakura mocked sincerity in her voice at the last word and turned walking with her head high.

Typical of Sakura, and Ino knew it. The blonde gave one last smile to Neji, before saying goodbye, and good riddance. However Ino still couldn't get over the fact of how Neji settled for such a small, clumsy looking, and plain girl.

What was he thinking!

Ino got back into the carriage, waiting till Sakura started her water works. Sakura didn't cry however, she only held a scowl on her face that rivaled her oldest brother, Asuma's, when Sakura did something wrong. This reminded Ino of how dead they would be when they returned home! Of course Ino had insisted they run away with a ton of money looking for the man Sakura loved. However Sakura's brothers scared her more than anything. Asuma, being the scariest she had seen yet! Thank goodness she was an only child!

"Why aren't you crying?"Asked Ino looking back to see Sakura with more of a glare on her face now.

"I'm too angry to cry at the moment!"Sakura half yelled, not at Ino though, but at everything in general.

True, Sakura's behavior was not lady like, but then again when was she ever a lady. Growing up with 4 brothers, didn't give you much of an example of lady like behavior. Especially since every one of them were as hot headed as a bull, with an exception of Kakashi of course. He was more of a care-free spirit.

"I'm starting to wonder if you really loved him, "said Ino, looking back to the road ahead.

"Of course I loved him," yelled Sakura, though she wasn't quite sure, she had nothing to compare it to.

She took a fist full of her dress and shook it violently. She wore a formal pink dress, with many diamonds shining in the sun's light; she wore a diamond set of long earrings, necklace, and bracelet. With blush on her cheeks, and her waist long hair pinned up in an elegant bun as her bangs whipped their way around her face. All of this just for him! What did she get out of it? Nothing! Not a damn thing! It just angered Sakura all the more. Not to mention she was in the worst of places- Sound itself! It was a wonder they weren't mugged or whatnot by now, though Ino did have a good disguise for herself. She held a hat to hide her luscious blond locks. She couldn't hide her voluptuous breast however, but the baggy white shirt helped a bit with that. She wore tight fitting pants as well. All in all Ino could be recognized as a female immediately, but for some it could be harder to realize. No one had bothered with them thus far- apart from a few cat calls- so she sat comfortably in the little crate of a wagon; not bothering to duck and cover herself with the potato sack blanket Ino had so cleverly thought of.

"If you loved him, you would have cried first, then been angry." said Ino, she decided this was going to be her last input on their conversation.

Sakura stayed silent; true she wasn't one for denial. All of it angered Sakura though; she needed to blame it on someone! She gave a sigh, and then the tears came. It wasn't Neji's fault; it was the stupid war which made it all go wrong! One that Sound had inevitably started! Oh how she hated this dreary little town, Rain was even better than this place! The streets were dirty and empty, beggars littered every corner, and drunks were what made up half the Amagakure's population, disgusting, just awfully disgusting it was!

Sakura sulked within the wobbly contraption- she refused to call it a wagon- and hoped Asuma would let her off the hook on this one. She wondered if Kakashi was angered, or if he'd gotten back from his Anbu station in Rain. That's where they were headed to after all; from there it wasn't much to Konoha.

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Not far off a pirate ship was sailing toward Amagakure, its captain on deck looking forward as his long black hair whipped from one side to the other by the wind, trying to break free from his low pony tail. His eyes stalked the horizon like that of a hawk for prey.

"It's been a long time since we've been in the Sound, I don't even think we're welcome", came another man's voice. Itachi turned to see his younger brother- Sasuke, staring at him, with a disapproving look. Sasuke looked young yet his eyes held knowledge close to that of his own.

"What do you suppose we do? We're running low on supplies and there isn't a ship in sight, It's the closest thing we've got, anyone who has a problem with us shall be silenced right away", said Itachi, averting his gaze back to the land before him, a clear threat in his eyes. If it had been any other crew member Itachi wouldn't have to explain himself, but this was his precious little brother.

"You make it sound so easy, but it's not," Sasuke let his voice trail off as he too, looked toward the land.

"It's easy for me", said Itachi rather dryly. Sasuke gave a sigh, giving up on arguing with his brother.

"The military might have strengthened since we've been gone…"Sasuke said, worrying about the crew of the ship.

"On the contrary, it loosened to the point where criminals run wild, after the war the military hasn't had anyone enroll, and it soon fell apart, unlike Konoha."Itachi informed.

"It shall be rather easy to raid." Itachi said, Sasuke acknowledged his brother's intellect and followed his intuition accordingly.

"Do we kill or-"

"Do as you wish, just don't spur up too much trouble, I don't wish to be troubled too much." Itachi said with one last look at his brother as he prepared to dock.

How many years had he been doing this exactly? Oh yes of course since after the war. Home was too troubling for him. Being betrayed never felt this refreshing, Itachi concluded. So why not leave them to die? Maybe he had become too uncaring, as of late he had been having dreams of his home land, and his friends, had they survived the war? He had been very irate lately indeed. He did not wish to be reminded of his home and everything in it. He was a cold-hearted pirate now, it needn't matter. Yet he was still searching for all the answers to the puzzle, one that might unlock the key to his clan's safety and well being. Well if the trail rain cold he'd stop, that's what he told himself, he wasn't sure how this web of deceit would end.

"Sakura duck down now, we're moving into the middle of town if they see a lady so well decorated they'll be sure to stop us and steal us of everything, including your virginity", Ino teased as Sakura only gave a grumble and jumped in back slipping the brown 'blanket' on top of her.

Ino didn't need to worry; she had her disguise after all. She looked like an everyday stable boy or girl for the more sober eyes. Her chest exposed her however. She hoped not many noticed, since she held the reigns of her horse high up in front of her breasts, not giving much view of them. Just as they passed a tavern, Ino could see a number of drunken, muscular sailors beating up on a skinny looking, sober man. She looked away quickly when another man came out of the tavern, looking her straight in the eye. She whipped the reigns, willing the horse to go faster. The horse, much to her dismay, did not obey.

Stubborn mule!

Ino yelled panic in her mind as she looked back over to the tavern to see the man still staring at her, she didn't like the look in his eyes, and he was obviously drunk.

Damn the stupid horse, damn the pig!

Ino tried to whip the reigns once more, this time the horse stopped altogether, snorting, as if telling her she could kiss his wide behind. At that point Ino was panicking seeing the man walk toward her carriage, she whipped harder and harder at the reigns, the horse only snorted once more and shook its head.

"Having a problem there missy?"asked the man giving her a charming smile.

Yes, charming indeed, if he weren't drunk and thinking of ways to get me in bed!

"No, no problem at all…sir." said Ino nodding her head, a sign of dismissal; he wouldn't budge.

"Now sweeties no need to be so independent there! I can help ya'!" his words slurred out and she felt like slapping the man. Just as she was about to throw an insult his way, she heard people screaming from the docking area. Both she and the man turned quickly, only to see a rowdy crowd of civilians yelling 'pirates' and running in one direction, a human stampede.

"Bloody hell!" the man screamed also running the other direction, Ino cursed under her breathe. They were bloody pirates for god's sake! Don't pirates raid other ships, at sea! Not land, damn it! Sakura got fed up with being left out of detail of what was happening out there, so she went against her better judgment, and threw the blanket aside, getting up.

"Oh my!" she whispered at the scene before her.

She looked over to see Ino trying to pull the horse to move. The thing was an animal, wasn't he supposed to sense danger and run? The horse fell to the ground, it looked sickly and had white foam coming from its mouth, Ino cursed yet again.

"Stupid, good for nothing farmer sold us a sick horse, must've ate some bad hay!" yelled Ino over the screams of the people. They couldn't just run they had too many valuables in the carriage, most importantly money for their way home, they weren't about to grab the sacks full and run with them, that wouldn't even get them far. Ino was frozen in thought, trying to find a way out of this mess.

"Well if we stand here we're just going to be robbed by pirates!"said Sakura, sounding rather frantic. She was getting tired of hearing people screaming bloody murder, she got the point already!

"Hurry up, you useless idiots!" yelled a gruff voice.

The two girls looked back to see a handsome raven haired man standing and waving his hands at numerous other men, as each of them went into the stores and came out with hand full of merchandise. It seemed they were only raiding food stalls and blacksmiths, rather than going for banks and taverns; although that would probably take rather long. Ino's hopes grew, they might only have come upon land for necessities, and maybe they would get their share and leave before spotting them. The girls stared wide eyed waiting for their fate.

Dear god, we're going to die!

Both seemed to screaming in their heads, prayers and apologies resonating in hopes of reaching the people they loves before their doom came upon them. The raven haired man looked over and his eyes widened at Sakura. She was practically standing there, screaming 'oh please, do rob me'. He raised an elegant black brow; these were two of the stupidest women he had yet to meet. He turned smiling at both of them; perhaps he liked causing dumb women like them to tremble with fear before him.

"Men!" he yelled. Ino's eyes grew wider than they already were, he was staring right at Sakura, a smug look on his face.

"Oh no, you don't!" yelled Ino, running to Sakura's side so fast the wind took her hat- having her blonde strands revealed- as she stood in front of Sakura protectively. Sakura gasped, just like Ino to do something brave; brave yet stupid.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Sasuke stood wide eyed at the blond, he inwardly found himself admiring her. He dismissed the blond, however as it only took a hand's swift move to have his crew members seize both women.

"Let me go you sickly, disgusting pigs!" yelled Sakura. Ino seemed to be doing the same except she swore at what seemed to be the leader, Sasuke.

"You coward, you bastard, you-"Ino cut herself off trying to find a good offense.

"You…everything I loathe!" it came out as all she could really say. Her mind was in too much panic to think straight. Sasuke laughed at her miserable attempts. Truly an idiot she was. She glared at him.

He gave a simple 'hn', and that's all it took to silence her up and have her stare wide eyed at Sasuke. Sakura stopped squirming as she looked over to Ino, wondering what had her looking as if she saw a ghost.

"Ino?" she called out.

"Sasuke?" asked Ino, almost coming out a whisper. Sakura's eyes widened, but that was impossible! It couldn't have really been Sasuke Uchiha, right? Sasuke seemed not to understand. He gave the blond a quizzical look.

"Do I know you?"Asked Sasuke, brow raised.

"You Idiot, how can you not remember us? Damn it, are all you men suffering from memory loss!" yelled Sakura, fed up with being so damn forgettable! That got a reaction, as Sasuke's eyes widened in realization.

"Sakura?" he inquired. Sakura nodded her head and smiled, looking toward Ino. Sasuke gave a worried look, looking to the ground. Now what was he supposed to do now?

"Sasuke, What are you doing?"asked Ino, confused as to why he was leading a band of pirates.

"Good gods don't tell me you're a pirate!" the yell came from Ino and Sakura at the exact same time.

"You girls are so annoying." Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Take them aboard. I need to talk with the captain. No one touches either girl, got that?" ordered Sasuke, as he ran back. The crew seemed hesitate at first, looking at each other, but fallowed the orders nevertheless. The others sifted through the carriage finding their money and possessions and started to gather them, bringing them aboard as well.

"Hey Ino?" asked Sakura, getting Ino's attention, as she turned her head.

"I'm going to murder you!" yelled Sakura, almost making the man holding her go deaf.

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Please do review ;).

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