Ascending (Sequel to Rock Bottom)

Chapter 29 - And There Goes Sakura

After his talk with Itachi, Sasuke walked silently to his and Naruto's shared room, which was his old room. Naruto was already sleeping like a log inside, and Sasuke was quick to join him, completely oblivious to his pink-haired teammate exiting the room next to his.

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Sakura didn't know what to think. She didn't even know half of what was going on. As soon as they resolved one problem, two more seemed to pop up.

She had heard almost everything that Itachi had said to Sasuke and vice-versa. She knew there was something he wasn't telling her.

If she had interpreted the two Uchihas' conversation correctly, that would mean that Pein, and maybe even the two Oto ANBU, were related to her, which would explain what happened with Kisame back in Kumo.

And it would also mean that she might stand a chance at ending this madness once and for all...

Kakashi knew something was off the moment he finished the Icha Icha novel he was reading. He reached blindly to his left to grab the next book that was on his nightstand. But when all he felt was the wood of the table, he realized that the book he was holding was, in fact, the most recent one.

Then reality set in: he had nothing left to read.

Grumbling to himself, Kakashi got out of bed and made his way downstairs, deciding to get a glass of water before calling it a night. On his way to the kitchen, he passed the central living area.

He didn't notice anything off on his way in, but when he emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water, he noticed the absence of a particular metal block that he was almost certain was there when he had entered.

    Then Kakashi heard a loud creak. His eyes flickered to the door leading outside the house. He swore it opened by itself, but when he blinked, it was closed once again. Strange...

The jounin didn't think much of it at first, thinking that Sakura had probably decided to take it to her room. But when he walked past her room, he noticed the door was slightly ajar and couldn't help but take a peek inside.

The scene before his eyes looked fairly normal. Gaara's red hair could be seen peeking out from under a mountain of bed sheets. And he was laying on his side, so it could have been easy to assume that Sakura was next to him, out of view from the door.

But Kakashi knew that Sakura had always been bad at disguises, so why couldn't he sense her chakra signature in the bed?

Kakashi silently scanned the room once again. And this time, he noticed that the tungsten was also nowhere to be found, which raises the question of whether Sakura was even in this room to begin with.

The masked jounin silently walked up to the bed Gaara was sleeping in, careful not to wake him up. Thankfully (but not really), only a quick glance at the unoccupied side of the bed proved that Kakashi's hunch was true.

    So then if Sakura wasn't in her room, where was she?

    Kakashi's eyes drifted back to the door leading to the hallway.

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    Naruto woke up feeling very refreshed. Though, when he tried to sit up, he found it difficult due to a set of arms wrapped around his waist.

    The blonde blushed when he saw Sasuke's face next to his. The ravenette still wore a slight scowl in his sleep, though it reminded Naruto more of a kitten than anything else. It was adorable in its own strange way.

    Naruto didn't know how long he spent staring at Sasuke's face, mostly because he didn't realize it until the ravenette opened his eyes.

    "You know watching someone sleep is stalker-like behavior, Dobe?" Naruto's face flushed once again,

    "Shut up; I wasn't staring,"

    "Sure you weren't"

    Naruto huffed, and wriggled out of Sasuke's grasp. "On a more serious note, we need to actually do something about the Akatsuki, otherwise they'll come after us again 'ttebayo."

    "Hn," Sasuke replied with a nod, "I think something big is going to happen today."

    "Is it about something you and Itachi talked about yesterday?"

    "Not really, it's just a feeling," Sasuke proceeded to get up as well, and the two boys walked downstairs side by side.

    "Ramen for breakfast?" Sasuke asked just before they entered the kitchen, making Naruto grin.

    "You know it." The ravenette nodded and was about to walk over to a cabinet until he noticed Gaara hunched over the counter.

Sasuke walked over and peered over the redhead's shoulder, noticing a piece of paper with Kakashi's unmistakable handwriting.

To my Kage and lovely chuunins,

    As you all have obviously noticed, you are not graced with my presence on this fine morning. Do not worry, I am fine (probably).

Last night I finished my Icha Icha book, and realized that I had nothing left to read! So I decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water...

    "Oh boy, it's storytime with Kakashi dattebayo."

    "Let me read in peace, Dobe."

    Anyway, I noticed that Sakura was missing. I didn't want to wait until morning to go after her, so I decided that this note shall suffice to inform you of my whereabouts. I'm not exactly sure where she went so I cannot give you an exact location. However, if I reach a dead end, you will be able to find me at the place where my team and I met for the first time. If I'm not there then I'm either dead or have gotten caught up in something.

    Best wishes,

    Kakashi ;)

    Sasuke cursed when he finished reading the letter. This was not good.

    "Naruto, Gaa-...Kazekage-sama, we need to go. Sakura is in trouble and Kakashi may be as well if he followed her."

    "How do you know this?" Gaara asked,

    "Sakura must have heard my conversation with Itachi yesterday and went after her family." Gaara waited for Sasuke to continue, not understanding why the ravenette was in such a panicked state.

    "Pein is her family,"

Ugh this story keeps dragging on and on.
I'm not to happy with how it's turning out. I'll probably have to condense some chapters and move stuff around because even I think it's boring.
Thank you so much to everyone who's stuck with me this far. This is definitely in need of some editing, there's way too many moving parts in the plot right now.
If you have any suggestions for shortening this or parts that you wouldn't mind removed/added please tell me!!