Runaway Love

Ch. Eleven - Sasukes Plan

"I figured the best way to test your trustworthiness is to send you to the Leaf. I want you and Sasuke to retrieve Naruto Uzumaki for me."

Sakuras heart felt like it was slowly freezing over. She had no idea what to do! She was smart enough to know that objecting to this plan would give Pein plenty of reason not to trust her, and would most likely get her kicked out at the very least. Maybe even killed? She could never beat Pein in a fight..

But she couldn't kidnap Naruto! She couldn't. No matter what happened, she had to make sure they didn't get Naruto.

Before she knew it they were standing in front of a large door, much larger than any other door she had seen down here. This large door was almost tall enough to where Sakura could sit on Peins shoulders and they would still easily make it through. It was black and looked wooden, but it had no knob. Watching as Pein opened the door using a unique hand sign, Sakura was surprised to see the contents of this room.

The room wasn't large, but it was at the same time. It had a very high ceiling, although it wasn't very wide. All of the walls were made of smooth stone, even the floor. Lining the walls were dozens of beautiful scenery paintings, as well as long block leather couches on both sides. There was only enough room for one couch to fit on either side, but in the middle of the room at the very end was a large black desk, seemingly crafted out of the same black wood. It was what was behind the desk that caught Sakuras attention the most though.

A large window covered the entire back wall. The view overlooked a magnificent lake off in the distance, surrounded by many Pune trees and colorful wild flowers. Sakura wouldn't have been so mesmerized however if something wasn't a bit.. odd, about this scene. When she looked closely enough, she could see reflections in the water. Reflections of Naruto, Sasuke and herself as young children sitting by the water while Naruto and Sakura argued, and Sasuke pretended to ignore them both. She caught his hidden smirk however.

It made her heart clench.

Pein glanced over his shoulder at her and then forward again, moving to sit in a large chair behind the desk.

"It's not real," He stated casually, as if reading her mind. "it's a simple genjustu that reads your emotions, putting a natural image that would best suit your desires on the wall. Usually when I come in here, I see a calming beach, the only different between that and a real beach however is that the sky is always black." He continued as if it were one of the most normal conversations he'd had all day.
"Sakura," He spoke firmly, pointing to an open seat in front of his desk that she didn't think was there a moment ago. "what do you see through my window?"

There was a long pause as she starred out the window. After a few moments, she walked slowly to the open chair and sat down, still starring off in the distance.

"A hidden lake." She simply stated. Well, it wasn't a lie.

Pein watched her for a moment before nodding. Only a few seconds later and there was a knock on the door which created a soft echo through the room. Pein quickly preformed his unique hand sign and the door slowly swayed open to reveal Sasuke standing behind it. He entered with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, momentarily glancing out the window as well. Sakura wondered what he saw when he looked out that window..

"You called for me." He said in a matter-of-fact way.

Pein motioned for Sasuke to enter and Sakura drifted out of realization as he explained the plan to Sasuke. She continued to stare off into the paradise behind Pein and wondered what their lives would be like if Sasuke never left. She but her lip and shook her head to get rid of those foolish thoughts. All they would do is bring her sadness.

Sakura only snapped to it when Sasuke stood up, causing his chair to be pushed backwards. She looked up to see him looking back down at her, Motioning for her to follow him out. As they were leaving, Pein smiled after them and gave a quick salutation.

The two former leaf shinobi walked quietly back to their rooms to gather supplies they would need. Sakura couldn't take the deafening silence any longer and when they reached their rooms, she spoke up.

"Sasuke, don't tell me you're actually planning on-"

He shot her a displeased look and shook his head to politely tell her to shut her mouth. Storming off to her room, She slammed the door and gathered enough to last her five days. She met him outside her room, leaning against the wall waiting for her. As they walked out, he whispered to her so quietly she almost had to ask him to repeat himself.

"I have a plan Sakura." He stated as if it was obvious. "But we can't talk about it here. Too risky, we need to head farther east towards the leaf. I'll explain on the way."

Sakura internally smiled to herself. That was her Sasuke, always prepared and so smart. He really was cool.

When they were a good mile away from the leaf, they stopped for a break. As they rested, he told her his plan.

Sakura was to go to the leaf on her own, to warn Naruto that Pein was setting his eyes on him. She couldn't explain how she knew or that she was with Sasuke. They both knew why it wouldn't be good for Naruto to know Sasuke was close.

After she was done, she had to find a way to sneak out and meet back up with Sasuke at sunset.

They were escaping the Akatsuki.

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OOOOOO suspense! Hehe, sorry guys but I won't be updating for about a week again. I have a lot going on this week, so I'll try and update Saturday or Sunday okay? ~hides~ don't hate me!

I do not own Naruto, nor do I own any of their characters!