A/N: Hey, guys! It's been a really long time. I know I haven't updated in ages. But I'm really thankful to you who still follow this story. Special shout out to the people who messaged me from time to time. A lot of things are hindering me updating regularly but I assure you that this story will be finished.

This is for you guys! And for that glorious ending theme. Y'all know what I'm talking about. (^_^)

Chapter 48 Losing Grip

"Oh my dear, you look absolutely beautiful."

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and her face was pale but the dress was beautiful. She had never been accustomed to dresses, much more full length gowns. In truth, she always thought they were silly. Unless you were Ino, that is. Her best friend looked good in almost anything. Or in almost nothing, actually.

Mikoto touched her bare shoulders. "Well? Do you like it?"

Sakura met the gentle woman's eyes in the mirror. "It's beautiful."

"Really?" Mikoto said. "I'm glad you like it. Although, we can still call the designer to make another one if you didn't like it."

"No, that won't be necessary," Sakura said. It was kind of scary how well the dress fit her but she didn't plan on saying that. And if she said she didn't like this dress, she was sure another one will pop out somewhere.

"It's settled then." Mikoto brushed Sakura's bangs away from her face. "You'll wear this at the party."

"Party?"

"Oh, Sasuke hasn't told you, has he?" Sakura slowly shook her head. "Oh, that boy. Well, the Uchiha has this tradition of presenting any betrothals or planned marriages to the family." Sakura's eyes went wide and she gulped. Mikoto chuckled. "Don't worry dear, it's only just a formality. No need to be scared."

Sakura walked to the corridor Sasuke disappeared to earlier. Her previous elation was now dampened by the prospect of having to meet and greet the entire Uchiha clan in that gown. She needed to get Sasuke and ask him to go back. Mikoto said she was going to prepare some snacks they can bring back and told her where Sasuke was.

Sakura rounded the corner and saw Sasuke standing at the far end of the hall. "Sasuke!" He didn't turn. She jogged to where he was and called again, "Sasuke!" She stopped in front of him ready to yell but conceded when she saw the look on his face.

He was looking at nothing in particular, not even when Sakura was trying to catch his attention by waving her hand in front of him. His brows were knit together, his lips were parted and he... he was just there.

"Sasuke," Sakura called again, gentler this time. She didn't know why but she was suddenly worried. She touched his cheek. "Sasuke." Sasuke's eyes darted to hers and focused. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

He blinked and swallowed. He touched the hand on his cheek and carefully lowered it. "Nothing. I'm fine."

But his face said otherwise. "Are you sure? You don't look so good."

Sakura felt his grip on her hand tighten. "I'm fine."

They made it back just in time. Sasuke stopped in front of the staircase leading to the entrance to the Quarters. Sasuke removed his helmet and Sakura did the same.

"You go ahead," Sasuke said, not facing her. She tried to peek at him from the side. He was quiet all the way back. She wondered if it was something she said or did but came up empty. She got off the bike, trying to balance the package Mikoto gave them.

"What about this?" Sakura asked, lifting the package in front of Sasuke. "I don't think I can eat it all by myself."

Sasuke looked at the carefully wrapped bento and then at her. It was there again. The same expression Sakura saw in his eyes earlier. Then, he looked away. "Call Naruto and tell him to bring it to our room."

"What?" Sasuke put his helmet back on and rode away. "Hey!"

Sasuke removed the key from his bike and stood in the middle of the parking space, still perplexed by what he saw. It couldn't have been Sakura, could it? There must be other kids with pink hair and green eyes. Right? But the rational part of him knew the probability was low. But it was not impossible, was it?

Why would it be there, though? Why would it be hidden in the vault in his father's office?

His phone vibrated, pulling him back from his musings. He pulled it out and saw his brother's name on the screen. He stared at it, debating whether he should answer it or not. But what would he say? What would he tell him?

He hung up.

"Oy!" Naruto screamed when his best friend entered the room. "Sakura called me just now and practically threw this thing at me!" Naruto shoved the package to him.

"You can eat it if you want," he said, stepping around Naruto to get to his side of the room.

"What? Did you two fight?" No reply. "What? You're not gonna tell me?" Naruto saw Sasuke quickly gather his things and make his way to the shower room.

"Ino told me you went on a date, you know," Naruto continued after taking a deep breath. "A date you initiated. She told me you got jealous over some dude. Is it true?" Sasuke continued walking and it took all the willpower Naruto had to stop himself from tackling the asshole. "Tell me, Sasuke, did you finally realize that you like her?"

Sasuke stopped, his hand on the knob. Naruto waited for him to say something but he just stood there. He almost felt guilty. Was he putting his nose where it didn't belong again? Then, as if time started again, Sasuke gripped the knob and went inside.

Naruto scoffed. Ten years of friendship made Sasuke so familiar to him like the back of his hand. That pause was all the confirmation Naruto needed.

Sai surveyed the area one last time from where he stood hidden on the branch of the highest tree he could find. They had been on stake out for a week and the targets had not showed up anywhere. Could it be that they were discovered? That was impossible. His team made sure they were undetectable. Could they have relocated without their knowledge? More probable but still unlikely. They established surveillance points around the perimeter of the village and anyone who went in and out were identified.

He set his binoculars down and looked at the sky. The sun was almost gone. It was time to get the night vision goggles out. He rummaged through his pack but didn't find it. He searched again but it wasn't there. Then, he remembered lending it to the youngest member of his team, the one he relieved of surveillance duty a few hours ago. He clearly told him to put it back in the pack.

He clicked the transmitter at the side of his neck. "Sato." He waited for an answer but none came. He tried again. "Sato." Still nothing. Sai didn't usually get annoyed but that kid was getting on his nerves. First, he set up the sensors wrong that a squirrel triggered the alarm. Second, he chased down an innocent civilian thinking he was a target. They had to dose the guy to forget about the ordeal and not blow their cover. Then, he didn't bring his night vision goggles and had to borrow theirs when it was his turn on surveillance duty. Sai caught him sleeping on the job once, too.

Sai clicked the button again. "Sato, I'm giving you five minutes to respond to this transmission or I'm going to make sure you're back to headquarters by sunrise."

Sai looked at his watch. He still had less than an hour before it gets pitch black. That was one of the biggest problems in villages as far and secluded as this one was. Electricity was a privilege.

Five minutes up. Sai reached for the button again, when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He turned to his left and narrowed his eyes. He couldn't see anything behind the shadow of a tree but he knew what he saw. He waited but the foliage stayed still. Was it the wind? Maybe but he didn't feel a breeze, and he was higher up here. An animal? Could be. But somehow, his instincts were telling him it wasn't a squirrel this time. He turned forward and pushed the button again. "Miura."

Static and then, "Yes, Captain?"

"Where's Sato?"

"He said he was going to the bathroom." Sai lowered himself so he was gobbled up by the shadows. "Captain?"

"Tell him to come here when he gets back," Sai said, almost a whisper. He jumped down a lower branch, then to the next, then to the next until he was a few feet above where he saw movement.

"Yes, Captain," she answered.

From this angle, he had a clearer view of the shadowed area. He waited but everything was still. Was it really just an animal? Sai swung himself up a next branch and he saw it - a hunched figure by the bush. It definitely wasn't a squirrel. The suspicious figure moved its head and looked up to the branch where Sai had been.

Sai's eyes narrowed. 'So he knew I was there.' Sai looked up, too. From this angle, his pack looked like the shadow of a person's torso. Sai reached for his belt and pushed a button. His pack turned away from their direction. It was a clever trick he came up with a long time ago. At a young age, Sai knew the significance of decoys and a lot of other things.

The hunched figure slowly straightened to his full height and carefully maneuvered himself behind the large tree in front of him to the other side. Sai looked at the small mound of dirt a feet in front of the stranger. Anytime now, it will trigger the planted device and stun the guy. But the person stopped about a feet from the mound and took something out. A split second later, he put it away and stepped over the mound.

The alarm didn't sound.

Those perimeter sensors were one of the latest top-secret innovation produced by their organization. It can serve as a radar, interference source, heat sensor or a mine depending on the need of the user. Sai helped design it. So he knew there was only one thing that can disarm it - another top-secret technology. And the only unit that should be in this part of the country was supposed to be the one in his pocket.

When Sasuke looked at the clock, it was midnight. He stood up from the side of the bath tub where he had been perched after he finished taking a bath, turned the faucet off and pulled the drain plug. His hair was dry now and they were sticking out in all directions. Naruto was probably asleep now.

He stepped out of the bathroom and saw Naruto fast asleep at the far end of the room. He sat on his bed and a blinking light caught his eye. It was his phone.

He sighed and took it. Itachi called him two more times that night and sent a message.

What happened?

He didn't know how to answer that so he swiped to the next message.

Hey. Are you feeling better now?

He looked at the time the message was received. 11:45 pm. Was she still awake? Was she waiting for him to reply? He started typing I'm fine but decided against it. He was pretty sure he said the same thing to her earlier but she clearly didn't believe it. So he ignored it, too.

Sighing again, he angled himself so his back was against his headboard. He opened his Images folder and there it was - the little girl. He stared at the photo telling himself it wasn't Sakura. The photo's colors were a little washed out so the pink was not as bright, the green not as vibrant. The little girl wasn't smiling, either. She was just looking at him - at whoever was behind the camera.

He swiped to the next photo. It was a document. He magnified it and read:

CRYPTIC SYSTEMS CODE

Phase 2 Status Report

Subject: Post-op Status of Prototypes

Day 3 post-op. Prototypes G and M expired at 1100 hours. Prototype L arrested at 1230 hours but was resuscitated after 20 minutes. The rest are stable but none have regained consciousness at the time this report was made. Out of the ten prototypes four remain under observation. Collection of the next batch is underway in the event that all prototypes expire.

There were images below that Sasuke couldn't identify. The closest he could associate them to was a seismograph. He scrolled down the picture but the lower edges were smudged, as if it got wet. Sasuke reread the short paragraph. He knew what post-op meant but what kind of operation was it? Prototypes of what were they using? Two died... Animals, then? Because to think otherwise was morbid. And then, there was the 'collection of the next batch.'

The more Sasuke thought about it, the more he delved into more disturbing thoughts.

He massaged his temple and swiped to the next one. It was the crumpled paper in which almost all the words were unreadable. A good chunk of the left upper right hand corner was torn and most of the rest were filled with small tears. Still, Sasuke magnified it and strained to see if there was something salvageable.

Code 00 - Rei

Preliminary evaluation

Intellect: 100%

Weapons handling: 98%

There was a list after that - at least, it looked like a list - but Sasuke couldn't make out anything more. Then, at the bottom of the document was:

00 will be subject to a field trial at 0300 hours. Results of the trial will be evaluated in consideration for initiation of Phase 3.

'Phase 3?' Sasuke thought. 'What the hell is this whole damn thing?' He tossed his phone beside him on the bed in frustration. He laid down and covered his eyes with one arm. He knew he should sleep but it didn't come.

A/N: Like always, please tell me what you think of this chapter in the comments.

Don't worry, I will finish it. See you! (^_^)